Romeo and Cinderella
by Major Sugar Assassin
Summary: All the girls in Alice Academy wanted one thing—the king, the playboy of the school, Natsume Hyuuga. What happens when the beautiful & wild Mikan arrives and Natsume is determined to make her his? Will she fall for the playboy... or for the best friend? Natsume's no Romeo, but that's alright... because Mikan makes a terrible Juliet.
1. Like Father, Like Daughter

**A/N:** I don't really know how to explain what triggered me to write again but on the 17th of April (Yeah! I took note of It.); while I was listening to _Romeo & Cinderella_ (The Male English Version—_lawd, is it sexy!_), I had an epiphany so strong that I pulled out my IPad and started writing the 1st chapter of this story. From then on, I had the song on repeat. I love_ Nico Nico Douga_!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of _Gakuen Alice. _Nothing. Nada. Wala. Erhm... and to add salt to injury—NONE of these characters in this story are mine. Darn it! Now, I'm depressed!

Oh wait! Maybe except the plot.

**I. Like Father, Like Daughter**

Exactly one week before the end of the classes, most of the Junior High school students of the Sapporo National High School are at the study hall finishing a bunch of homework and piles upon piles of essays that they need to give. It was overall a typical day—up until someone unexpectedly banged the door open.

_"Ms. Mikan Yukihira?"_ A woman in her mid-forties inquired breathily; Sapporo City's humid weather taking a toll on her. She scanned the study hall briefly before landing her gaze on a girl who was drumming her fingers subtly against her desk— matching it with whatever song she's listening to. The girl doesn't seem to notice the woman since she just lolled her head back and closed her eyes; a perfect scene of nonchalance.

"Ms. Mikan Yukihira?" The woman repeated with more force. At this point, the woman was beginning to get antsy since a few minutes have passed but Mikan still didn't show any signs that she heard the female. This time; however, most students in the study hall seemed to notice that there was a person at the door—but not just any person: it was Ms. Shizune Yamanouchi, the Vice Principal.

That fact alone was enough to effectively halt every single noise coming from the study hall.

They all peered at Shizune before glancing at the girl in question. Mikan just kept on drumming her fingers against her desk but now; a small smirk dawned on her pink lips. It appears that she was fully aware after all.

A few snickered at her antics. Mikan is a well-known troublemaker in their school—putting superglue at toilet bowls, pouring red food coloring in the swimming pool at night... You name it! One time, their English teacher, Mrs. Tachibana, asked the students to write an essay. While checking the papers, she threw a huge fit when she saw Mikan's paper. In the middle of said paper was a messy scrawl that read _'NO FREAKING IDEA'_. The teachers may hate her for it but a lot of students admire her courage to do such things.

"Ms. Mikan Yukihira!" Shizune glared at the ones who found the situation amusing. By now, she looked every inch of a bomb that would burst any minute.

_'Nah. It's more of a blowfish, really...' _Mikan thought as her frame began to shake from silent laughter.

A sharp tap on her shoulder snapped Mikan out from her internal musings. She opened her eyes leisurely and stretched her arms as if she had just woken up from a peaceful catnap. After a few moments, she directed her questioning gaze at the girl beside her.

The student discreetly pointed at the woman standing at the front door. Sighing exhaustedly, her gaze followed the direction where her seatmate was pointing. Mikan's eyes widened when she met the eyes of Shizune who had her arms crossed against her chest while tapping her right foot on the ground. Mikan let out a guffaw when she saw the Vice Principal; she was doing an exact imitation of a 'Bitch Pose'.

"Yes?" Mikan asked with mock sugary sweetness while arching a delicate eyebrow.

"The Principal wants to see you." Shizune replied tiredly. She puffed out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before slamming the door, not giving any time of the day for Mikan's nonsense.

"Mikan, you okay?" Mikan's seatmate, Buta; asked.

Mikan nodded wordlessly before grabbing her leather jacket that was hanging at the back of her chair. She sent a wry smile to Buta before tailing after the Vice Principal.

The students didn't make a huge deal out of it since they all knew that it's common for the young delinquent to be called to the Principal's office.

**_~o0O0o~_**

Knocking at the Principal's door, Mikan wondered why she had put up with the school's rubbish rules. Well, it was partly her father's fault. Mikan's father, Izumi Yukihira, insisted that she should enroll in a local school so that it will be easier for him to pull her out when there are emergencies in his work that would need him to travel.

She could just ask Izumi to send her to her mother, Yuka Azumi, who is a known Interior designer in Tokyo; as opposed to her father who is part of some research group that studies the rebirth of dinosaurs and something about 'Gangster Dolphins' as he lovingly calls it.

But Mikan couldn't make herself do it since as much as she dislike her father's constant traveling, it does not compare to the hatred she feels for her mother who left them when she was still 2 years old. Seventeen long years have passed but Mikan's limited knowledge of Yuka Azumi was only through magazines and newspapers. Beyond that—_nothing._

The last thing she read about her mother was that she was now married to a guy named Naraku... or was it Naruto? Mikan didn't really care. All she was sure of was the dude was filthy rich and a business tycoon.

"Come in." A gruff tone replied.

An awful stench of something rotten greeted Mikan when she opened the door. A balding man who bears a striking resemblance to Buddha—which was kind of ironic since his desk was made of Indian Laurel; was sitting on his desk. He didn't bother to look at Mikan's direction when she entered the room since he seemed to be in a deep conversation with someone.

To Mikan's utter astonishment, that someone was actually Izumi Yukihira; her father.

If looks could kill, she'll probably be pulverized by now when her warm brown eyes met with that of her father's depthless pools of Mauve that held such dark promises. Mikan instantly knew that something was terribly wrong. Maybe her pranks had gone too far?

"I was just talking to your father here. Sit, sit!" The bald man exclaimed. He motioned Mikan to sit beside her father with his rather clammy hands. Mikan took careful and deliberate steps towards her father as if she was approaching a wild beast. She tried—she really tried to remember what exactly did she do wrong that is so huge that even her father; who was accustomed to her mischievous, wicked pranks; was there.

Unable to control herself, Mikan slammed her palms against the bald man's table.

"What did I do now, Baldy?" Mikan sneered at the man. The last time Mikan was here (exactly a month ago), Mr. Kuonji, the principal or _Baldy_; proposed that if she were not to cause any more problems until the end of the school year, he will not tell her father anything—not even an ounce of what she had been up to.

And she was not about to tell her father that. As if reading Mikan's mind, Izumi smiled at her knowingly.

"It's nothing to do with whatever you're thinking, young lady." Izumi replied patiently. He motioned Mikan to take the seat beside him.

Mikan mentally sighed in relief as she propped herself down on the chair.

"So what's up?" Mikan drawled lazily, dragging out the last syllable as if gauging the reactions of the two men.

"You're leaving next month..." Izumi began hastily but Mikan didn't miss the emphasis on the part that she was the only one leaving.

"Wha-"

"... for Tokyo. So you could start your junior year. It was Yuka's idea... and I agreed."

"What the fuck?" Mikan growled menacingly— her knuckles turning white as her hold on the table tightens.

"You can't do this to me, dad! You of all people... you should know how much I hate that fucking bitch." Mikan's eyes visibly darkened as she snapped her penetrating gaze to the man she respectfully called her father.

Izumi acted as if he didn't hear what Mikan had said and rambled on, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as he went.

"Yuka called; she wanted to get to know you and she suggested that she would enroll you in one of the most prestigious schools in Japan—_Alice Academy_."

"Dad! I don't give a flying fuck if she wants to get to kn—" Izumi held out a hand to stop Mikan. He knew that Mikan was hurting but she was the only family he has left... and he wanted to give what's best for her even if she ended up hating him.

The two of them looked at each other with so much intensity; they didn't even notice that Mr. Kuonji left the office. To others who might have seen the scene, they would just assume that Mikan was angry with Izumi—who was radiating guilt. But both of their eyes held a different story altogether.

"Dad," Mikan placed her hands on her lap and looked down; avoiding to look at Izumi's grimace. Mikan was thinking of ways on how she's going to let her father know how much she hated what's going on without offending him.

All of a sudden, Mikan's eyes widened as an imaginary light bulb lighted up in her mind. Of course! This was her father doing whatever other dads do—wanting what is best for their children.

No matter how much Mikan hated the predicament, she couldn't stay mad at her martyr father who thinks he was doing what he thinks is best. She cleared her throat before stumbling through her speech.

"Dad... Knowing you... you agreed to this just for my future... but I'm happy as long as I'm with you—and that's all that matters..."

"Mikan, I can't back down. I—"

"I'm not opposing you on this because I know how important…" Mikan rolled her eyes in exasperation before continuing.

"… _Whatever this is_ for you." Mikan concluded as she wrapped her arms around her quivering frame before letting out a strangled sob.

"Oh honey..." Izumi pulled Mikan in a tight hug as he cried silent tears of his own.

"C—can't... Breathe!" They didn't care if they looked like crazy fools as Izumi carried on swinging Mikan like a rag doll.

**_~o0O0o~_**

From rebuilding motorcycles to nightly Skinny Dipping _(seriously?)_, one month had gone by without Mikan and Izumi noticing. Both of them wanted to make their last month together memorable.

They rode to the airport in companionable silence. None of them wanted to fill it with mindless chatter and oaths they couldn't keep. In that moment, they were just any normal father and daughter out there—jamming to Def Leppard and shit.

Finally, Izumi pulled the car on break as they reached the New Chitose Airport. An awkward tension permeated the air; both trying to find words they wanted to say to each other. Mikan glanced at her father momentarily before looking out the window. It was as if she was summing up her courage to say the words she wanted her father to truly understand.

"I'm gonna go now, old man. But this doesn't mean I'm okay with this." Both of them had come to an understanding that Mikan could go back to Izumi after finishing her Junior Year—unless she still wants to.

Of course, Mikan insisted that she's gonna bust her ass out of Alice Academy the moment the bell rings at the last day of school.

Izumi clenched his fists as he tried to pull himself together. He didn't want his daughter to see him break down like a sissy.

"I'm going to miss you, kiddo." Izumi and Mikan rarely show affection to each other but this was just one of those times they are compelled to do so.

"I'm gonna miss you too, old man. Don't forget to wash the dishes after using it, 'kay?" Mikan teased. Over the years, both developed a routine that Mikan would be in charge of the kitchen and what Izumi only needed to do was grab a beer from the fridge and watch a football game.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you, kid. I can't even fry an egg right!" Izumi retorted, all the while chuckling at himself. He awkwardly put an arm around Mikan; prompting the girl to pat her father's back comfortingly.

After a few more moments; with a last reassuring squeeze from Izumi, Mikan went out of the car without looking back...

Still, that doesn't mean that Mikan was okay with the arrangement... She would make it her life goal to let Yuka Azumi realize just how wrong her decision was in letting Mikan Yukihira—troublemaker and prankster extraordinaire; enter her life.

Mikan let out a boisterous, villainy laugh as she readied herself to start a new phase of her life.

_Oh yeah! Life is good._

**_~o0O0o~_**

**A/N:** Ugh! I know; this chapter's boring but it's necessary. Love it? Hate it? Do you have suggestions you want me to do in the next chapter? Type in a review below so I would know! Those who'll review will be given a teaser from the next chapter!

… and even if you're reading this years from now; **STILL REVIEW**, 'kay?

**WISHING FOR YOU TO SCROLL DOWN & With Love,**

**Major Sugar Assassin**


	2. Tea Or Coffee?

**A/N:** I can't thank y'all enough for placing this story in your favorites or alerts list as early as now! I wasn't expecting that kind of response... But just keep 'em coming! I do hope that this chapter will leave you wanting more.

**II. Tea Or Coffee?**

So far, the flight to Tokyo was fairly okay for Mikan. Well, if you don't count the times when she wanted to strangle the flight attendant, who kept on asking her what she wanted to drink—tea or coffee? She put on her earphones in a vain attempt to keep the flight attendant away. Mikan knew that the flight attendant was just doing her job, but how many no's does Mikan need to utter before she could take a hint?

"Ma'am, would you like a tea or a coff—" Once again, the persistent flight attendant asked politely. The question was the last straw for Mikan as she silenced the flight attendant with a steely glare.

_"God dammit!"_ Surprised at how loud her voice sounded, Mikan fleetingly scanned her surroundings. It turned out that she was attracting attention of some passengers. Mikan looked at the flight attendant's nameplate—which read 'Yura', before continuing in a calm and authoritative tone.

"Look... Yura. How many times do I need to tell you that I don't want a tea or coffee? Leave me the hell alone; that's what I want!" Taken aback by Mikan's outburst, Yura hastily pushed her cart forward without a glance back at Mikan's direction.

Mikan could have sworn that she heard the flight attendant mutter _'bitch'_ under her breath.

Mikan knew she was being a bitch, and she felt bad for the unassuming flight attendant. It was not the flight attendant's fault, really. Mikan was grouchy ever since she set foot on the airplane—she was never fond of heights.

For the rest of the flight, the flight attendant didn't bother asking Mikan anymore. But when she had time, she threw glares at Mikan's direction, resembling a kitten trying to intimidate a lioness.

**~o0O0o~**

As Mikan walked towards the baggage claim area of the Narita Airport, she couldn't help but revel at the fact that this was her first time in Tokyo. Despite countless times that Izumi persuaded her to travel to Tokyo with him for his research, Mikan was adamant not to go since she didn't want to have anything to do with her mother.

Speaking of her mother, Izumi mentioned that Yuka would send someone at the airport to pick Mikan up. With that in mind, Mikan scanned through the crowd searching for a placard with her name on it.

There—in the rearmost of the crowd, stood a young man who looked like he went straight out of a magazine cover. He was extremely tall, about 6'5. He has a small star-shaped tattoo just above his left cheekbone. His calculating amethyst eyes were surveying too among the passengers that were pouring out of the airport.

But that wasn't really why he caught Mikan's eye; he was holding a placard with her name on it—Mikan Yukihira.

Mikan slowly walked towards the man. As if sensing that someone was looking at him, the young man directed his gaze at Mikan. His eyes held a mischievous glint when he saw her approaching causing Mikan to freeze on her spot—unsure on what to do. Seeing that he was unintentionally making the girl uncomfortable, the teen smiled at her tentatively.

"Mikan Yukihira?" He asked—his voice smooth and velvety; but it did nothing to soothe the nerves Mikan was feeling. Mikan shook her head at her emotions' absurdity. She was the prankster here, darn it. It's supposedly the other way around!

"Yeah. Do you expect someone else?" Mikan replied saucily before scanning the crowd as if prove her point. The lad chuckled lightly.

"Oh... Feisty! I like you. We're gonna be best buddies! I can see it already! We're going to have slumber parties; we're going to paint our toe nails pi—" The teen let out loud guffaws before he could even stop himself. He used his hand to cover his mouth—a clear attempt of reining in his amusement.

Mikan arched a delicate eyebrow in disbelief.

'Is_ this guy for real?'_

"_Oka~ay._ Are you on drugs or something? Because that's the impression I'm getting." The lad ran a hand through his tousled mop of azure hair to calm him down before replying.

"Bejeezus! Where were my manners? The name's Tsubasa Andou." Tsubasa gave Mikan a panty-dropping smile before grabbing her duffel bags from her hands.

"Let's go, little girl! Aunt will kill me if I don't bring you there on time." Mikan wasn't sure if Tsubasa's last statement was for her so she didn't comment on it.

While Tsubasa was texting his driver to come pick him and Mikan up, Mikan was left to her thoughts.

'_Who the hell is 'Aunt'? Silly me! Who was I kidding? Of course, it's mother dearest.' _

Mikan's thoughts suddenly went haywire when she saw a midnight blue vehicle halt in front of them. Mikan's eyes widened in awe when she realized what it were.

"Fuck me sideways! Is this the new 2013 Audi A8 L?" Mikan screeched. Unable to contain her excitement, Mikan ran towards the vehicle and reached out her hand to touch its hood.

"I would love to, sweetheart... if you'll stop molesting my baby! And yes—she's an Audi A8 L. You talk cars too?" Mikan raised her hands in surrender before taking a blatant step back. It didn't escape Mikan's attention that Tsubasa referred his car a 'she'.

"Chillax! I'm just admiring the hot ride... and yes, I talk cars too. I used to rebuild motorcycles with my dad." Mikan rolled her eyes in annoyance. Tsubasa could almost hear a bitter 'Well, duh' in the thick air.

"Just because I'm a girl, it doesn't automatically mean that I know nothing about cars... and really? A _'she'_?" Mikan smirked at the now stupefied lad.

"I get dibs on the Shotgun!" Mikan yelled excitedly, situating herself at the front passenger seat of the car.

"No fair!" Tsubasa jutted his bottom lip out before using his own version of puppy dog eyes.

"Not gonna work on me! Come on, slowpoke. We don't want the evil stepmother to know we're slacking."

**~o0O0o~**

It turns out that Tsubasa Andou really _was_ a model. Note the past tense.

During the drive to the 'Monster House'; as Mikan blatantly calls it, Tsubasa entertained her with stories about his 'photo shoots gone wrong' (putting unknown substances on his fellow model's hairspray... that kind of stuff.) and how because of it, he lost his job.

He was now one of the directors of his father's oil company, despite the fact that he was only 18—a year older than Mikan.

Mikan realized that she was like Tsubasa in ways more than one that led her to believe that they could be; indeed—best buddies, aka partners in crime. Oh, the possibilities!

Minutes later, Mikan noticed the abrupt change of the scenery when their vehicle entered a private subdivision. The houses—mansions, really; seemed to grow larger in size; to the point that it could trump the Prada Building in Tokyo or even USA's White House... that was a little to the extreme, but oh well!

The sedan came to an abrupt stop in front of a white Victorian style mansion. Mikan's eyes nearly went out of her sockets when she took in how big the house was.

"You're kidding me, aren't you? This is a castle; not a house!" Mikan exclaimed.

If it was possible, her eyes widened even further when she saw what was beside the mansion—in the middle of its front lawn was a huge, antique greenhouse. She quickly ran towards it, despite Tsubasa's constant calls for her to come back.

Mikan slowly opened the glass door, careful not to break anything. The greenhouse was roughly twenty feet tall. Expensive dark stained mahogany elegantly outlined its curving roofline. It boasts hundreds of different species of flowers and herbs. It is circular in shape and at its center, a magnificent marble statue of Demeter—the Greek goddess of plants and fertility; stood in all of its glory. Water sprouts out from its interlaced fingers elegantly.

"Wow..." Mikan couldn't find the words in her normally colorful vocabulary to describe the sheer beauty of the greenhouse. She was too absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice that she wasn't alone in the glasshouse anymore. She didn't even realize that Tsubasa had already left too.

_"I'm glad you like it, Mikan."_

Just like that—Mikan's bubble burst when she heard the voice of the person she dreaded the most;_ Yuka Azumi_.

Mikan was almost a splitting image of her mother. The only difference between them was that she has a waist-length auburn hair while Yuka have cropped blonde locks, short enough to frame her face.

"Seriously? That's all you could say to me the first time we meet in 17 years? _You're like the best mother in the world!"_ Mikan let out a bitter laugh when she saw Yuka's face twisted in a grimace.

"You're just like your father—reckless and outspoken." Yuka's voice was lifeless. She sat down in one of the granite benches and looked up at the darkening skies.

"I'm glad. At least I'm not a coward who left her family the moment her daddy said so." Mikan crossed her arms against her chest defiantly and narrowed her eyes at Yuka. Yuka cringed at Mikan's intense glare.

"So Izumi told you all about it? I know tha—"

"Just the basics. The fact that when your daddy learned about your relationship with my dad, he married you off with another guy that he deemed wealthier and more useful. And here you are; daddy's little angel who follows his every whim, immediately cuts off all your ties with my dad... and me. How fucked up was that?" Mikan sneered.

Mikan's eyes widened when she felt moisture on her cheeks. She hastily wiped it away in an attempt to not show any weakness.

Yuka choke back a sob when she saw how her daughter was hurting. The tension in the air was so palpable to the point that Mikan couldn't take it anymore. She rose unsteadily to her feet and tried to get her bearings. When Mikan started walking to the mansion; Yuka clasped her hands around Mikan's left hand; an attempt of halting her movements.

"Please hear me out. Five minutes—five short minutes is all I ask of you. And after that, if you think that my explanation is still unacceptable... then you're free to return to your father." Yuka gazed into Mikan's eyes pleadingly. If this was the only time that she will be able to talk to her daughter, then she's going to make most of it.

"The clock is ticking..." Mikan replied, indifference coloring her tone. But honestly, Mikan was practically oozing curiosity on what Yuka had to say.

"Your grandfather was a terrible man. He used everyone around him like pawns in his little games... and I was one of them. He used every horrid way to separate Izumi and me. I tried reasoning out with him that I love Izumi so much and I would do my damnedest to fight for him... but my father _never_ lost a fight.

"He arranged a marriage between me and the oldest son of one of his business associates. I could still remember how I destroyed every single thing in hindsight when I first heard the news. I threatened him that I would leave if he didn't call off the wedding..." Yuka let out a dark chuckle at that.

"But did I mention to you that my father was one of the most powerful persons in the corporate world? He warned me that if I would let my 'supreme idiocy' rule me; he'll ruin who he thought was the root of all this—Izumi. Of course, I couldn't jeopardize Izumi's life so I agreed. Izumi was better off with someone who'll love him unconditionally." Yuka fleetingly glanced at Mikan, whose was wide-eyed in apprehension.

Mikan regarded Yuka with amazement. She could never begin to imagine what horrors this woman had gone through in the hands of someone so despicable and vile. Mikan has a lot of questions but one keeps nagging her at the back of her mind.

"Why now? After all these years... _why the fuck now?_"

"When my father died four years ago, I contemplated if I would find you or not; and I did. But when I saw that you happy and content with your life, I couldn't ruin it by sucking you into my world. I didn't know why I contacted Izumi—I guess I just want to get to know my daughter that I had neglected for so long. But seeing you here now—upset just by the mere fact that I'm breathing the same air as you are, I realized how selfish I am for wishing that you'll forgive me easily for everything that I have done... and for that; I'm sorry."

Mikan didn't know what to say. All these years, she believed that Yuka was a self-absorbed bitch that doesn't care about anyone but herself. In all honesty, Mikan could see herself liking Yuka; even extending to accepting Yuka as her mother...

_'But it's too soon.' _

Seeing that Mikan had no plan of replying, Yuka grabbed a tray full of condiments that was sitting beside her all this time.

"It kind of cooled down already... But do you want a tea or a coffee?" Yuka asked sheepishly.

Mikan glanced at Yuka momentarily before looking down at the tray. Loud giggles erupted from Mikan before she could rein it in.

"Seriously? That question again?" Mikan amusedly muttered to herself. Yuka oddly looked at Mikan, trying to make sense of her daughter's reply.

"Umm... I don't know. How about some soda?"

"Follow me." Yuka smiled at Mikan gently. On the horizon, she could see the clouds thinning; revealing a sun that had never shone so bright 'till now.

**~o0O0o~**

"This place is _huge_! Not just huge, but like _HUGE huge_!" Mikan exclaimed with her rather limited vocabulary. After they had drunk their refreshments, Yuka practically dragged Mikan to show her around the mansion.

The interior of the mansion was elegantly furnished—beautiful dark-stained wood floors contrast with the marble and stone. The mansion has two 2 wings—the east and the west. At the center of it are double elliptical stairways leading up to the foyer. The game room, home theater, ballroom and the biggest library Mikan had ever seen are in the east side.

The west wing, however, consists of eight guest suites, the living and the dining room, an enormous contemporary swimming pool that takes the shape of infinity, and a hydraulic elevator that leads to the kitchen & pantry... and connects privately to the master suite.

"What are you? A secret agent or something?" Mikan asked with mock suspicion when Yuka entered a pass code to open the door leading to the master suite.

"Oh, we just love role-playing and stuff." Yuka wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before giggling like a schoolgirl. Mikan made a gagging noise at that.

"Ew! You don't need to tell me about that."

After seeing the bathroom and the walk-in closet that may as well fit Narnia, Yuka went to face Mikan and looked as if she was anticipating something.

"Well, the grand tour ends here."

"Not that I'm imposing or anything... But where's my room?" Mikan asked dryly before glancing at Yuka—who just smirked knowingly.

"You're not going to stay here, dear." Yuka replied rather gleefully. Mikan arched a delicate eyebrow upon hearing Yuka's cryptic reply.

"So where the hell am I going to sleep? At the _front porch_?"

"Silly girl! Come on."

**~o0O0o~**

"I knew it! How could you, Yuka? This is far worse than the front porch!" Mikan cried out teasingly before shivering involuntarily due to the night breeze.

Yuka just shook her head amusement but still kept on walking. She turned on the lamp that she was holding before directing the light to Mikan's face.

"Stop being a wuss and just follow me!" Yuka exclaimed jokingly.

Yes, they're outside—specifically in the forest at the back of the mansion, venturing to wherever Mikan would stay.

"This better be good, or else..." Mikan let her statement hang in the air before following Yuka through the dense woods.

**~o0O0o~**

**A/N: **Oh, where could it be? A treehouse maybe? Type in an answer below! Those who'll get the answer right will be given a teaser from the next chapter. Even if your answer's wrong, you'll still get a teaser but just a bit shorter!

**Clue:** Title of a horror/thriller movie of 2012 that has the word _'Woods'_ in it somewhere.

And before I forget, _Natsume H._ will not show up 'till the 5th chapter!

**Cheers,**

**Major Sugar Assassin**


	3. Cabin In The Woods and DVD's?

**III.** **Cabin in the Woods... and DVD's?**

Mikan instantly regretted that she agreed to whatever Yuka was planning. She squinted her eyes as she tried to look past the trees; a clear attempt to see anything that would give her a clue on what's in store for her.

_'Is it a cottage? A treehouse? A tent of some kind? Hell, it could just be a sleeping bag for all I know.'_

Mikan slapped away the twigs and branches that kept on pestering her. Yuka's footsteps slowed down as she motioned Mikan to match her strides.

"Close your eyes." Yuka whispered hastily. Mikan looked at her mother weirdly; unable to comprehend what she had just said.

"What the he—"

"I said: _Close your eyes_!" Yuka demanded excitedly. She bounced up and down in her place while waiting for Mikan to comply. Mikan sighed dramatically before closing her eyes.

"Okay, okay!"

With that, Yuka went behind Mikan and gripped on her shoulders lightly. She eagerly nudged Mikan to move forward in which Mikan hesitantly did so. In all honesty, all Mikan wanted to do on a Friday night was prop her ass on a sofa and eat a slice of cold pizza while watching a football game... But no! Her mother had to ruin it for her.

After a few moments, Mikan could hear the familiar swishing of water from a distance. Mikan tried to open her eyes but Yuka seemed to have read her mind when she made a grunt of disapproval. Mikan had an urge to stick her tongue out at her mother... It was a childish thing to do but she was too agitated to care.

Yuka tightened her hold on Mikan's shoulders—halting her movements.

"We're here and I want you to do as I say." Yuka began sternly. Clearing her throat, Yuka looked at Mikan one last time before continuing.

"Open your eyes on the count of..."

"... One ..."

"... Tw—" Mikan didn't wait for Yuka to finish up to three when she opened her eyes—eager to know what it was.

_Shit. _"Fuck." It was all Mikan could utter when she saw what it was.

In front of her stood a magnificent cabin. It was a 275-square foot wood and glass box that hovered lightly above the lake shore. The exterior walls were partly wooden and partly covered with horizontal stripes of glass enhanced by an outer horizontal cedar screen—it both prevents the structure from twisting and filters the bright light. It looked glorious at night since its electric interior light illuminated the cabin like a traditional japanese lantern.

But what caught Mikan's undivided attention was a shiny red motorcycle parked in front of the cabin. Yuka pulled out something from her pocket hurriedly; emitting a jiggly noise that sounded awfully similar to clanging of keys. The noise caused Mikan to glance at Yuka suspiciously before looking at what was in her hands.

"_Seriously?_ You're giving me a _2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R_?" Mikan asked; her voice shrill in disbelief. "This is too much! I'm sorry but I can't accept this."

"Yes, It's a welcome present. When Izumi mentioned that you like motorcycles, I instantly bought the most expensive bike out there. This is the least I could do, Mikan. Indulge me." Yuka pried open Mikan's clenched fists and gently put the keys into her palms.

Mikan reluctantly accepted it. For her, It felt as if those three, little keys weighed a ton. With one last glance at the motorbike, Mikan proceeded using one of the keys in opening the door of the cabin.

Since the cabin only has limited space, the interior is minimal—all of the surfaces are of veneer plywood including the built-in cabinets. The east side opens to an outdoor shower and chemical compost toilet while the west side opens to a small deck; which, bare of handrails, spills out to the horizon in an infinity pool-like effect.

"I designed this cabin with you in mind." Yuka sighed wistfully; seemingly fond of the memory. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Yuka glanced at her watch and sighed sadly when she saw the time: 9 in the evening.

"I must go. There are two boxes of pizza in the fridge so help yourself." When Yuka was about to close the door of the cabin, Mikan's voice cut through the thick air.

"I had fun... _mom_." Yuka beamed happily before shutting the door. It warmed her heart just hearing those words from her daughter.

**_~o0O0o~_**

Mikan woke up from her sleep by the shrill ringing of her phone. She grumbled incoherently before getting up to grab her phone from her duffel bag.

'_Who the hell calls this early?'_

_'Oh, a voicemail.'_ Mikan was even more intrigued when she saw that it was from an unknown number. Putting it on loudspeaker, she lay back on her bed and closed her eyes as she waited for the message to start.

"Mikan!" A jubilant female voice exclaimed. Mikan snapped her eyes open and looked at her phone oddly.

_'Mom?'_

"Mikan! Go to the house at 8 sharp." With that; a beep resounded, signaling that the message had ended. Glancing at the clock at her nightstand—which read 7 in the morning, Mikan hurriedly freshened herself up; all the while screaming a string of profanities in her head. While checking if she had forgotten something, Mikan caught sight of the lake beside the cabin.

"Next time, Lake. Next time." She mumbled longingly under her breath before grabbing her keys.

Mikan revved up the engine of her new baby—a red 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R _(Yeah, she likes reminding herself that),_ momentarily enjoying it's powerful purr before driving towards the mansion.

**_~o0O0o~_**

Pulling the key out of the ignition, Mikan felt like she could relate to those people in horror movies who knows when something bad will happen to them. Add that someone was playing the piano inside the mansion. _Dun dun dun._

"Maybe this is a bad idea." Mikan muttered lowly to herself but her stomach grumbled in protest.

"Exactly! I could just get back to my cold pizza at the cabin. Yum." But before she could put her plan into action, Yuka came barreling from the front door. The one playing the piano also stopped.

"Mikan, you're late! We've been waiting for you." Mikan heard clear as a day that someone will be with them. _Bummer._

"We?"

"Come on!" Yuka said impatiently before dragging Mikan across the front door. Mikan could hear two people arguing while walking towards the dining room.

"Just leave me alone!" A husky voice bellowed menacingly.

"Son, we couldn't allo—"

"Don't call me that!"

There in the dining room, stood a handsome, silver-haired young man who seemed to have the same age as Mikan. He was furious about something while talking to a blonde-haired man in his mid-forties who was sitting calmly on a bench beside the piano. The young man seemed to sense that they were not the only ones in the room since he snapped his gaze at Mikan; who stared back just as intensely—not backing down.

"Well, well. Who's this?" The lad leered causing Mikan to smirk; but her eyes showed anything but amusement. Yuka glared daggers at the young man.

"Youichi! You shouldn't hav—" Mikan held out her hand to cut Yuka off.

"Nah. I can handle this dimwit just fine, mom. The fuck's your problem, man?" Mikan sneered. The young man; Youichi, seemed shell-shocked when he heard that Mikan was in fact, Yuka's long-lost daughter.

"You... You're..."

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Mikan remarked snidely. Youichi clenched his fists but kept his mouth firmly shut. The air was tense; no one dared to utter a single word when Youichi started to walk towards the door. With a last hostile look towards Mikan's direction, he left—leaving the door open at his wake.

"I apologize for my son's behavior. He's been having some problems lately and when you came in, he just lost it..." The elderly man trailed off; he didn't want to show any further information about the lad.

"I understand." Mikan began. "Teenagers these days..." She shook her head as if to emphasize her point. The blonde male stifled a laugh before sharing a knowing look with Yuka. By then, Mikan realized that the blonde dude might be Yuka's husband... and she still doesn't remember his name. Shit.

_'Oh shiz with a cherry on top! Was it Naruto or Nagaraya...? I'm not sure.'_

"Uhm... You must be Naruto—"

"It's _Narumi_... Narumi Anju." He stood up from the bench and held out his hand in greeting. Mikan took his waiting hand in a firm handshake.

"So, a son? You have a son?" Mikan threw the question at Yuka. She was curious about why Yuka never mentioned Youichi in any of their talks. Yuka looked bemused at first before shaking her head sadly.

"No, but we consider him as one." Yuka's answer was short as if she's scared to give anymore details.

"We?" Mikan blurted out without thinking.

_'Stupid mouth.'_

"Yes, we. We can only give you the cliff notes if you want, since it's Youichi's story to tell." This time, it was Narumi who answered.

"Youichi is actually my nephew. His parents died when their house burned down four years ago. Youichi was the only who survived the incident. Since I'm his only distant relative left, I was given custody of him. He blamed himself badly for what happened that he underwent treatment for a year... Youichi's getting better since then; he better be." The last part was more on Narumi's reassurance to himself since he didn't want to see his son go back to that phase again.

"Enough of the heavy! Why don't we eat?"

**_~o0O0o~_**

Two weeks have passed without Mikan knowing it. She was kept fully occupied by Yuka and Narumi by showing her around Tokyo. Despite that, she could never erase from her mind the anguished expression in Youichi's face that day. Since then, Mikan never saw the lad since he was either in his room sulking or he's out with his friends partying. She was curious, that's for sure.

'_Curiosity killed the cat... but maybe Curiosity was a dog person.'_

It was late afternoon when Mikan decided to go back to her cabin. For the past week, she was smothered with attention by Yuka and Narumi that she didn't have any time for herself and to call her dad to see how he was doing.

But as Mikan neared her cabin on her 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R _(which reminded her that she needed to name it ASAP)_, she saw a man leaning against the front door. Mikan's eyes visibly widened when she saw that it was in fact; Youichi Hijiri. Regarding his surname, Narumi once mentioned to Mikan that the young man wanted to keep his surname to have something to remember his parents by.

"If it isn't the pervert! What brings you here, Hijiri?"

"Ouch, you wound me. No wonder Tsubasa likes you!"

"You know Tsubasa? And what are you doing here?"

"You bet! We both play for Alice Academy's football team." Youichi puffed out his chest in pride causing Mikan to chuckle lightly.

"That's cool." Mikan was happy that someone shared her interests... but she was no fool. Mikan knew that Youichi was avoiding the question.

"I know there's a reason why you're here." When Youichi was about to retort, Mikan continued in a low tone. "I don't have time for your bullcrap so if you're going to keep that up... I suggest you fuck off."

With that, Youichi sighed in exasperation before standing in his full height. He held out his arm in which Mikan hesitantly took. Together, they strolled towards the lake shore.

"Aunt Yuka wanted me to apologize for what I did." Youichi hastily began as soon as they situate themselves on a stray log at the shore.

"Then don't. It's nothing. I've met worse." Mikan replied; nonchalance coloring her tone. But she was glad to see that Youichi visibly relaxed after hearing that sentence alone.

"I know." Youichi said dismissively. Seeing that Mikan has this 'what-the-hell' look in her face, he continued.

"She was just overreacting." Youichi said simply. "Besides, I said that Aunt Yuka wanted me to apologize, not that I would." Youichi concluded and smiled smugly when he took in Mikan's bewildered expression.

"Asshole!"

"And a big, wonderful one at that." Youichi pumped his fist up in the air; knowing that he won. Mikan laughed heartily at his antics and Youichi couldn't help but join in. Moments later, they finally settled down. Youichi was wiping away his fake tears while Mikan slightly shivered due to the cold air.

"There's more to why you're here, right?" Mikan knew that there was still something bothering Youichi and she wanted to help him as much as she could. And Mikan also knew that she hit the jackpot when Youichi stiffened slightly.

"Well Mikan, what do you know 'bout my past?" Youichi needed to know to what extent Mikan knew about his past to know how he'll go ahead.

"Just the basics. Narumi said that it's your story to tell and I didn't want to pry."

"I loved playing with fire when I can, but my parents didn't like my obsession with it one bit... It was nighttime when that incident happened. There was this huge blackout in Tokyo that time... and I was ecstatic. I didn't know what happened; it was so fast! I just lighted up the candle and all this flames shoot out... I know that everyone in the neighborhood blamed me for what happened even if they hid it behind their sympathetic smiles and hugs." Mikan watched Youichi intently; fascinated at the faraway look at his face.

"The doctor diagnosed that I had this stupid disease called Pyromania. Some kind of disease in which people repeatedly try to deliberately start fires for euphoria and relief... just like drug addicts itching for a fix. Then Narumi came to the rescue and treated me like his own son. From then on, they helped me overcome my addiction to become a better man..."

"... and I am forever grateful to them for that." Youichi concluded with a small smile in his face.

"Good lord! I wouldn't know what to do if you go all _'I can't stop burning the DVD's!'_ on me." Mikan knew it was weak attempt to ease the tension in the air but succeeded when she saw a small smirk dawned on the lad's lips.

"I can't stop burning the DVD's... _Really_?" Youichi arched a delicate eyebrow in disbelief. Mikan, in turn; stuck out her tongue at him childishly... Thus a start of a beautiful friendship.

**_~o0O0o~_**

Yuka and Narumi were pleasantly surprised the next day when Mikan suddenly put Youichi in a Heimlich maneuver while he was eating his breakfast, causing him to spit out all the food that he was munching.

"Goddamit woman!" Youichi bellowed as he hastily wiped his mouth with a table napkin.

"Youichi, language!" Yuka chastised half-heartedly as she disguised her chuckle with an unconvincing cough.

"Yeah, asshat! _Language!_" Mikan shook her head teasingly. Yuka and Narumi were amusedly watching them. They just continued on eating their breakfast as if this was a daily occurrence.

"Aunt! Why didn't you correct Mikan? No fair!" Youichi pouted; using the last of his charms. He knew that it would be enough for Yuka to bend to his will.

"Mikan, language!" Yuka sternly said. But all it took was Mikan's widened eyes to make all of them crack up with laughter.

_"Hey!"_

**_~o0O0o~_**

**A/N:** I had so much fun writing this chapter! And I hope you had fun reading it too. It will be a challenge to write the next chapter... after all, our favorite blackmailer and a certain bunny lover will make their appearances! My, my! Can't wait! How about you? Type in a review below so I could know!

Ya'll know the drill: _REVIEW_ and get a teaser in return!

**Cheers,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


	4. Genitals MacArthur

**IV. Genitals MacArthur**

Before they knew it, a month had passed and it's time again for school. Mikan and Youichi both wanted to skip a year and be home-schooled so that they could _'concentrate'_ more on their studies. Yuka and Narumi both knew that wasn't the case though.

For the past month, Mikan and Youichi had been pranking each other ever since that day when Mikan strangled Youichi. It ranged from covering each other's rooms with gigantic _Justin Bieber_ posters to some of those _Paranormal Activity_ pranks that made Youichi squeal like a schoolgirl. It then resulted to Mikan proclaiming that Youichi was a closeted gay... in which Youichi refused over and over. It even led to Yuka having someone fix the wall in Mikan's cabin that has a man-shaped hole in it. Don't ask how.

Of course, their pranks had its own limitations though. Once, Youichi colored Mikan's motorcycle—_Cherry Bud_ _(yes, she has a name now)_, neon pink. Mikan was so mad when she found out that she vandalized Youichi's room with curse words the next day while he was out. It looked as if his room went through a mass massacre. Youichi learned the hard way not to touch any of Mikan's things; especially her Cherry Bud.

According to Mikan, there was a reason her motorcycle's name was _Cherry Bud_.

"Her name is Cherry. She's a fast little girl, out for money and blood. She's cunning, shrewd and brutal. Her chrome screams _'touch me'_, but her motor says _'... and die.'_" Mikan said in all seriousness while she and Youichi were in the mansion's garage one time.

"Where the heck did you get that?" Youichi asked teasingly. Mikan looked at him skeptically before replying.

"Oh, just from some motor website. I've practiced that line for like weeks now. I kept changing the words to see which will fit which." With that, Mikan resumed on fixing the valves of an old car she rescued from a junkyard the other day. Youichi then knew that Mikan was not joking around.

She was really serious about the nickname thing.

**_~o0O0o~_**

_"Youichi, fix your tie!"_ Mikan mockingly said as she went to fix Youichi rather crooked red tie. Mikan insisted that at the start of school, both of them should look presentable to make a good impression to the teachers—not like those sleazy a-holes.

"Then why are you wearing a leather jacket and some ratty knee-high boots, Sissy? Is that presentable?" Youichi sneered. Mikan looked upon her outfit innocently.

"It is presentable, brother bear."

"Then, let me change to my _more_ presentable clothes." Youchi simply said; emphasizing the word _'more'_.

"No, we're gonna be late!"

"Kids! Go down now! You're gonna be late for school!" Narumi hollered from the dining room. He and Yuka had taken up on calling Mikan and Youichi 'kids' since they've never seen them act like their age.

"See?" Mikan looked at Youichi triumphantly before grabbing her black leather backpack and motioning Youichi to do the same.

_"Fuck you!"_

"Oh, kinky!" Mikan winked at Youichi saucily before shutting the door at his face. Youichi ran a hand through his silver tresses in annoyance as he followed Mikan downstairs.

**_~o0O0o~_**

"I don't want to hear anything about you two getting into trouble. Especially you, Youichi. Am I making myself clear?" Yuka demanded in a hard tone. Mikan nodded lazily even if she didn't hear what Yuka had just said.

"Yes, ma'am." Mikan gave a mock salute towards her mother.

"What the hell? You know all too well that it was Mikan who started all of it!" Youichi exclaimed; pointing an accusing finger at Mikan—who was just sitting there twiddling her thumbs without care in the world. She looked so innocent when that Yuka had a hard time believing Youichi.

"I think not. Look at her! She was so innocent when she first came here... but you corrupted her! Poor girl." Narumi interrupted and shook his head. Yuka nodded vigorously; completely agreeing with what Narumi had just said. Youichi looked at the two of them disbelievingly.

"Poor girl... _Poor girl?!_" Youichi began hysterically. After a month of tolerating Mikan's behavior, he was finally at his breaking point. "I was the innocent one! She was the one who corrup—"

"Brother bear, don't be like that." Mikan cut Youichi off innocently while looking at him with her big, doe-like hazel eyes. Youichi knew Mikan well enough that she was enjoying his pain behind her naïve façade. She's a nasty bitch when no one's looking.

Yuka and Narumi fell right into her trap when they ushered her quickly outside the mansion to go start-up her Cherry Bud.

"You've got to be kidding me." Grabbing a toast from his plate, Youichi followed them outside.

**_~o0O0o~_**

The ride to the school was boring to say at least. Mikan kept Cherry at her top speed as Youichi struggled to keep up with her with his black _2013 Ford F-150 _truck. By the time that they got to the Academy, the parking lot was already half full.

Mikan and Youichi hurriedly fetched their schedules from Mrs. Natsu Ama—the old, gray-haired receptionist at the front office. She seemed quite smitten with Youichi since she kept sending him suggestive smiles and mixed signals at every chance she could get. She was unsuccessful though. She looked like a crossed-eyed King Kong. Youichi; however, impatiently waited for his schedule and hid like a little wuss behind Mikan's back. It was a pretty hilarious sight really.

_"Oh look! _Youichi has an admirer." Mikan cooed as soon as they got out of the office.

"God! Tell me about it. It's like it's her first time seeing a fine specimen of man." Youichi sighed in exasperation; running his fingers through his silver locks when he said 'fine'.

Mikan stifled a laugh; she didn't want to burst Youichi's happy bubble that revolves around his sheer _'hotness'_.

They were both surprised to see that they only have two periods in common, Government and Gym; their 3rd and 7th periods.

_'Lawd, this year's gonna be long!'_

With a last wave from Youichi, Mikan went straight to her first period; _English_.

**~o0O0o~**

When Mikan entered the room, she noticed that almost all the students there appeared to know each other. It's all looked so normal. Mikan used to think that students who study in prestigious schools were rich snobs.

_'I guess I was wrong.'_

When they noticed her; however, the whispers and subtle looks started. It was a surreal moment for Mikan—she couldn't count how many times she met those questioning gazes every time she would change schools when Izumi needed to travel.

Mikan shut her eyes; trying to calm herself down. She didn't want her first day of school ending with her in the infirmary. When Mikan opened her eyes, she spotted a raven-haired girl at the rear of the room motioning for her to sit beside her. Mikan must have a puzzled look on her face when the girl rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Are you okay?" Even if the girl's voice was monotone, her amethyst eyes showed genuine concern for Mikan.

"Yeah. Just peachy." Mikan replied before smiling gratefully at the girl. "Thanks for the seat though."

"I'm Hotaru Imai. You're the new student, aren't you?" Mikan noticed that Hotaru said the last part confidently. She was just confirming what she already knew. Hotaru's eyes glimmer with excitement when she gazed at Mikan as if she was a shiny new toy.

"Mikan Yukihira." Mikan replied with a curt nod before seating down on the chair.

Mikan instantly knew that the moment the teacher; Ms. Serina Yamada, stepped her heel-clad foot inside the room, she'll like her. As soon as Ms. Serina reached the center of the room, she slammed her hands on her desk to grab the students' full attention.

"I don't care if you don't pay attention to my class. As long as you give your essays on time, you'll be able to pass my subject." With that, Ms. Serina went on and on discussing about the homework and projects they needed to give at the end of the month; what were the books that they needed for the semester... Blah blah blah.

Mikan drowned out the rest of the discussion as she popped her earphones in her ear and looked outside the window. Her place at the back of the room gave her a good view on how big Alice Academy really was. The school grounds seemed to run for acres and acres. Gold seemed prominent in the school grounds. The school gates and the decor are all sparkly with gold coating. Mikan just wasn't sure whether they're real or not. But she was leaning on the latter.

_'If everything in this school is of real gold, I'm pretty sure robbers would have flocked the campus on its opening day. Like a freaking movie première. This is definitely a robber's ultimate wet dream.'_

A sharp tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her reverie. She jolted out from her seat in response. She then realized that it was just Hotaru. But before she could retort about how it was rude to interrupt people when they might be thinking about something life-threatening such as how big Mt. Fuji really was, she noticed that they were in fact the only ones left in the room.

"Why didn't you wake me up the moment the class ended?"

"I enjoyed watching you make those silly faces... Thank you." Hotaru replied; a small smirk etched on her face.

"Erm... You're welcome?" Mikan's reply sounded lame even to her. Hotaru's smirk widened even further. The silence between them was practically oozing awkwardness. When Hotaru couldn't take it anymore, she gathered her books and walked towards the door.

"Coming?"

Letting out an amused grin of her own, Mikan followed Hotaru outside the room.

_'I like her.'_

**~o0O0o~**

You know those movies like Anaconda and Snakes on a Plane where the snakes were just waiting to strike at their unsuspecting prey? Well, that was exactly the situation Mikan was in.

As Mikan walked down the hallway beside Hotaru, time seemed to slow down. Every single head turned and watched her every move. She hid her face behind her auburn tresses and she didn't give a fuck if she looked like _Sadako_ from _The Ring_ or something.

Mikan was glad when she and Hotaru reached their respective lockers. She hastily turned towards her locker and hid behind the locker's door.

"Are they always like this?" Mikan whispered while warily scanning her surroundings.

"I guess. We don't usually have new students since like ever." Hotaru simply said; drawling out the last word.

"Ever?"

"Yes... Well, no if I take count of the girl who literally fled out of the academy after Hyuuga broke her heart... Which was just 3 weeks after she transferred here—she didn't even last a month." Hotaru shrugged indifferently before looking at Mikan who still hadn't said anything more than one word.

"Hyuuga?" Mikan knew she sounded like a parrot but she couldn't help but be curious. Mikan shook her head momentarily at her 's no use in knowing whoever the dude was since it's none of her business.

Mikan needed to pull her head outta the gutter right this instant.

"Just one of those jocks who think they own this place. It's ridiculous, really." Hotaru slammed the door of her locker and faced Mikan.

"It would be better for you if you don't give them any reason to notice you... Or any proof that Mikan Yukihira exists." Hotaru warned. "I'm saying this because I like you. You're different."

**~o0O0o~**

Unlike English, Mikan's 2nd period—_World History_; was hell. The teacher; Fukutan, was this old, bald dude with thick glasses. He's okay at first but here's the catch—he'll forget whatever he's talking about after a while. He'll then continue with something completely irrelevant. He also had that weird accent too. Talk about whiplash.

"... Douglas MacArthur was an American General best known for his command during the World War II... and Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with Polio after that."

Fukutan nodded happily; satisfied with himself. Some students placed their hands on their temples when they felt a headache coming.

Mikan looked at her watch. She saw that only 6 minutes had gone by since the class started. It's officially doomsday.

_Fifty-four... Fifty-five... Fifty-six... Fifty—_

"Ms. Yukihira," Fukutan called out hesitantly as he scanned through the attendance.

_'Yukihira? Do I have a twin I don't know about?' _Mikan stiffened when she heard her name being called.

"Kindly read the first paragraph on page five of your textbook." Mikan looked at the teacher rather wide-eyed before opening her history book to the first chapter.

"Uhm... General MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. The Gener—Genital's father; Arthur, was a captain when Genital MacArthur was born—" Mikan was abruptly cut off by a tomato-faced Fukutan and students who were cackling like hyenas.

"Excuse me?" Fukutan asked incredulously; unable to believe what he had just heard. "Could you repeat what you had just said?"

"I said: Genital MacArthur was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on January 26, 1880. The Genital's father; Arthur, was a captain when of Genital MacArthur was born. Happy?" Mikan repeated the words slowly as if she was talking to a five-year old kid. She arched a delicate eyebrow defiantly upon finishing the task.

"Ms. Yukihira, if you want to use that kind of language in my subject, you can excuse yourself to detention."

"Well, _excuse me_." Mikan sneered; her voice hardened by sarcasm. With a last hostile look towards the old teacher, she walked out of the room; leaving students in shock with what had just occurred.

Mikan grabbed the school map attached to her schedule and went to find where the detention room was. After a few minutes of trying to interpret the map she was holding _(whether it was upside down or not)_, Mikan finally reached a run-down classroom that has a gold label on its door—_DETENTION._

_'Finally!'_

When Mikan opened the door, however; she noticed that she was not alone. Aside from the teacher who was sleeping soundly, there; at the back of the room was a blonde teen who was so good-looking that he might as well be a Greek God in his past life. Mikan looked him over and her eyes widened with incredulity.

Then again, when was Mikan attracted to hot guys? Never.

Mikan's eyes widened when her gaze landed at the thing he was cuddling—a bunny.

A pink bunny stuff toy.

_'What the actual fuck?'_

**~o0O0o~**

**A/N: **Yeah, I know. I suck. But maybe that's just me... Love it? Hate it? Hit the review corner below so I would know! Oh yeah, who do you think honey locks is? I'm pretty sure the answer's given away though. And our favorite bad boy will make his appearance next chapter!

Special thanks to _"J"_ for helping me with this chapter! She's just mysterious like that.

You know the drill: _REVIEW_ and get a teaser in return!

**Love,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


	5. Playboy Bunny

**V. Playboy Bunny**

"Am I getting punk'd?" Was the first thing Mikan uttered when she had managed to recover from the shock of seeing a teenage man... with a bunny. You read that right—_a bunny._

"Huh?" The young man asked. He was genuinely confused with what Mikan had just said.

"Sorry. Just taking precautions." Mikan muttered to herself before sitting beside the young man. She made a quick scan around the room for hidden cameras; still wary. Seeing nothing out of ordinary, she reluctantly faced the teen beside her.

"So... Blondie, is this a new trend I know nothing about?" Mikan looked at the cute, little bunny; half expecting it to move any moment now. Come to think of it, she saw one of those in _Toy Story 3_.

_'How weird.'_

"You mean the bunny?" The man realized what threw Mikan off and looked at the offending toy in his hand. He put it beside him before pleasantly smiling at Mikan.

"A girl gave this to me a while ago. I don't normally accept gifts from girls, but that girl is into some Voodoo bullcrap. She scared the living shit out of me." Blondie finished his retort with a throaty chuckle. Mikan arched an eyebrow at that; the 'gifts' remark caught her attention.

_'Who the hell receives gifts and doesn't accept it? That's batshit crazy!'_ Mikan shook her head in disbelief. If she was in his shoes, she'll definitely get whatever it was thrown at her—especially if it's chocolates and bunny-shaped cookies.

_'This guy... Everything about him screams 'Popular'.'_

"Uhh... Wow." Mikan muttered incoherently. She just idly sat there; gawking like a retard. Awkwardness was circling them like a blue-arsed fly.

Just then, a strange idea popped into Blondie's mind.

_"Moooo~" _He mooed in a teeny-weeny voice. It could even put Alvin and the chipmunks' voices to shame. Mikan stared at him; wide-eyed.

_'Fudge Knockers! It was in a high-pitched voice too!'_

"Did you just moo?" Mikan loudly giggled at the dude's sheepish expression.

"Umm, I guess. It's lame, alright!" The man began. He ducked his head; covering his reddened face. Mikan fervently nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. It was 12 kinds of stupid." Mikan haughtily cut off the blonde. The guy rolled his eyes, but continued nonetheless.

"But it worked, didn't it?" He ended his statement in a pleading tone. It sounded as if he was just convincing himself. Mikan snorted in response.

"Carry on. Keep telling yourself that, dude. What's your name, anyway? Can't just keep on calling you dude or _'Blondie'_." Mikan asked; curiosity dripping from every word.

"Ruka Nogi. You're the newbie, aren't you? It's my first time seeing you around here." Ruka looked at Mikan for confirmation; at which Mikan nodded absently. She seemed preoccupied with something else though.

"Ruka..." Mikan muttered; testing the foreign name on her tongue before looking up the ceiling.

"I think I'm gonna stick with Blondie." Silence. No one uttered a single word. Ruka didn't know what to say as he looked at Mikan wide-eyed. It was his first time encountering a girl who doesn't fawn over him every other minute... Well, aside for his mother, that is. But that doesn't count.

Ruka guffawed; clearly amused with the mere slip of a girl beside him.

"Why are you even in detention on the first day of school?" Ruka asked as soon as he settled down. Mikan smirked widened; a wicked glint dancing in her eyes when she answered.

"Mr. Fukutan," Mikan began. Ruka's eyes widened at the name. From all his years in the academy, he knew that Mr. Fukutan was level-minded and doesn't easily send someone to detention. This must be something really bad. "Doesn't like the way I read... Well, I kept saying Genitals McArthur instead of General, so I can't really blame him."

Ruka was slack-jawed when Mikan concluded her statement. He found it unbelievable that someone have that much guts to be downright nasty in front of a teacher. Seeing that Ruka was not going to reply anytime soon, Mikan bit her lip and asked.

"How about you? You don't seem the type being detained." Ruka smiled widely at Mikan's question.

"You're very perceptive. I'm actually covering up for a friend." Ruka replied before leaning back against his chair; his disheveled blonde locks partly covering his angelic face.

"A few hours ago—"

"Umm... You don't need to tell me the story. It's fine." Mikan abruptly cut off the blonde. Yes, she wanted to know what happened, but she doesn't need to hear it down to the last detail.

"You could just give me the gist—"

But before Mikan could finish the sentence, Ruka stared out the room's open window and fingered the bunny's fluffy ears as he recollected what had happened earlier that day...

**_~o0O0o~_**

The students inside the classroom were rowdy as they waited for Mr. Jinno; their Calculus teacher, to arrive. When Ruka entered with his best friend; Natsume Hyuuga—if it's even possible, the girls ran towards them like rabid animals.

A random girl feverishly pushed herself in the middle of the crowd and shoved a pink bunny stuffed toy on Ruka's hands. Other girls followed suit. It was flying chocolates and fan letters.

Ruka ducked his face; trying to protect himself, but Natsume just crossed his arms defiantly; his luminous ruby eyes piercing angrily through every girl caging them. He rolled his eyes in annoyance and beckoned one girl to come towards him; in which the poor girl did so.

_"Fuck off." _With that, the silence that took over the room was deafening. Natsume sighed in annoyance as he took his seat at the back of the room.

"Come on, Ruka."

As soon as they sat on the back row, Natsume pulled out a small mirror from his pocket. He suavely ruffled his raven hair to meet his usual roguish bad boy look. When he was satisfied with how his hair looked; which wasn't really saying much since it looked the same as it was a moment ago, he lightly tapped his best friend's shoulder. He pointed at his hair before raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Okay?"

"Umm, yeah." Ruka hesitantly mumbled. Ever since they were in diapers, Ruka didn't know why Natsume was particular with how his hair look. Every time he sees a mirror, he'll stop for a second and admire his luscious raven hair. It was borderline obsessive. Ruka was sure that Natsume has a hair fetish. He was also getting worried since Natsume might end up like that delusional guy from the _Heroes Of Olympus_ series who couldn't stop looking at himself on a mirror.

Ruka hastily shook his head at that thought.

'_I need to bury those books later. I'm getting too paranoid that I'm starting to compare Natsume with Greek Gods. To the effin' Greek Gods, for freak's sake!'_

Mr. Jinno was a cranky old man. He didn't even bother greeting the class and went straight to teaching the principles of Calculus. What's up with the academy and old teachers anyway?

After going through the basics and having the students bored out of their minds, Jinno went to sit on the chair behind his desk... and that's when things got real ugly.

As Jinno went through the attendance, Ruka noticed that Natsume was stifling a laugh while looking at the old teacher. Suspicion ran through Ruka like a lightning rod; he knew Natsume well enough that it takes more to make him smile—and much, _MUCH_ more to make him laugh. It's almost impossible.

When Jinno stood up from his chair, Ruka's ears perked up when he heard a sound of tearing of cloth as clear as day. On his peripheral, he could see Natsume snickering.

Ruka's cerulean eyes widened in disbelief the moment Jinno faced the blackboard. At the back part of Jinno's black slacks _(right at his butt)_ was a huge tear... taking figure of a perfect heart shape—his white boxer briefs hanging by a thread. _The fuck?_

For some odd reason, Jinno did not hear anything. The students were now laughing their asses off and some of them took out their phones to take pictures of the poor teacher.

"Calculus is a mathematical study o—" Jinno abruptly cut himself off when he heard his students' manic laughter.

"What are you all laughing at? _Settle down!_" Facing his students, he realized that they were in fact—laughing at him. Fortunately, a nice student in the front row saved Jinno from further embarrassment when she motioned the teacher to look at his back.

Ruka glanced at Natsume before shaking his head; he knew that his best friend was the one who did it. Ruka didn't know if Jinno was red from embarrassment or anger but either way; Natsume's in deep shit.

"W-who did t-this?!" The teacher stuttered. If he could get any redder; he would be beet as a tomato now.

The class suddenly went eerily quiet. Natsume sighed in frustration before speaking up.

"I was th—"

"I was the one who did it." Ruka spoke up as he silenced Natsume with his palm. The class were surprised since they knew that it was really Natsume. But Jinno didn't give a fudge as long as he had someone to blame.

_**"OUT NOW!"**_ The old teacher bellowed as he went out of the room with Ruka in tow...

**_~o0O0o~_**

"Blondie? You okay?"

Mikan's calm voice jerked Ruka back to reality. Mikan was getting worried with how his grip on the stuffed toy's fluffy ears was so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

"Huh?" Ruka asked. He was still collecting his bearings when Mikan was speaking.

"Are you okay? Why did you do that anyway? I mean, seriously! That dude should be in here—not you."

"Natsume's parents couldn't know. There's gonna be a lot at stake if they knew." Ruka's answer was vague but held a deeper meaning.

Mikan could understand him clearly; she also has a lot of secrets that she couldn't tell anyone... and she ain't gonna start now. She unconsciously fingered a tiny scar on her wrist as she tried to push back images from the past that no one but Izumi knew.

'_Aw, shucks! Now's not the right time to be sentimental.'_

"Wait, you said that his last name's Hyuuga, right?" Ruka nodded hesitantly in confirmation; he didn't know where Mikan was leading the conversation to.

"I heard someone said that he used to date a girl who left just after three weeks of studying here. Is it true?" Mikan couldn't help but ask. She's not invading the dude's privacy since everyone seemed to know everything about Hyuuga's love life. Ruka's azure orbs visibly darkened as he gazed into Mikan's eyes.

"Yeah. Where did you hear that anyway? Let's see... Was this someone's name Hotaru Imai?" Ruka let out a bitter laugh at that. Mikan's eyes widened; up until a second ago, Ruka has this whole gentleman thing going on but now...

"Yes. Why are you so sure that it's Hotaru? What does she have to do with that?"

"She's the president of the Newspaper Club." Ruka left it at that. No one spoke for the next couple of minutes. Mikan was busy gathering her thoughts; so much had happened in just a single day. And at the top of the ever-growing pile was the possibility that Blondie has a feud with Hotaru—it just made her head spin like crazy.

_'I knew it. High School really is hell incarnate. My meager brain can't take all that info all at once. Me thinks Infirmary and I are gonna be besties!'_

Mikan was having the worst migraine of her life, but Ruka was calm and collected. He was just looking at the teacher—who was still sleeping on the desk (mind you), as if contemplating something.

"Wanna sneak out?"

**_~o0O0o~_**

Mikan glanced at her watch. She still has half an hour to spare before she could go back to her classes.

"So, what now? Are we just gonna stand here?" Mikan asked her accomplice when she was sure that they were far enough from the detention room.

"I'm not as badass as you are so you decide." After their chit-chat back in the room, Ruka apparently loosened up and dropped the 'gentleman' façade.

"My _'badassness'_ has its own limitations too, Blondie." Mikan replied cheekily. Ruka laughed heartily before nodding his head in agreement; not putting up a fight.

"I know. You're not gonna go all Chuck Norris on me now, are you?" Ruka winked teasingly.

"C'mon, _spunky_." Ruka exclaimed; his cerulean eyes glimmering with excitement as he grabbed a hold on Mikan's wrist and led her to God-knows-where.

Mikan, however, couldn't contain her amusement about the lad's endearment for her.

"Aw hell. _Spunky._ Are you serious?"

"Not good, huh? It's unfair that you're the only one who gets to give a nickname, dumpling." Ruka had the decency to look ashamed before looking at Mikan, who was still amusedly shaking her head.

"What's next—_Shoogie Woogie_?"

**_~o0O0o~_**

By the time Mikan reached her 3rd period; _Government_—one of her two classes with Youichi, the class was already halfway done. Mikan wordlessly handed her detention slip to the teacher; Mr. Makihara, before sitting on a vacant seat beside Youichi at the back of the room.

"_Goddamn, sissy!_ Detention on the first day of school? Badass! What would Auntie say to that?" Youichi mockingly asked as soon as Mikan sat on the chair. He looked stern, but it was all in good fun.

"Talk to the hand, brother bear. _Talk to the hand._ I have enough shiz to deal with today." Youichi just smirked in response.

No one felt the need to say anything after that; falling into a companionable silence. Mikan looked at the teacher and for the first time that day—took down notes.

**_~o0O0o~_**

After that, time seemingly sped up for Mikan and before she knew it—it's already time for her 4th period.

For the next hour, Mikan spent her time alternately doodling at the back of her notebook and looking out the window. She was able to do such things without getting caught since coincidentally, her 4th period was Calculus... Which meant _Mr. Jinno_ was her teacher. But he wasn't there.

_'That Natsume dude really did a number on him.'_

Halfway through the period, two girls summed up their courage to talk to Mikan. They could be mistaken as twins since they look remarkably similar. The only thing distinguishing one from the other was that one had a luscious midnight blue-colored hair that reached her waist while the other had her hot pink tresses in a pixie cut. They looked like those stereotype beautiful gothic girls you see lurking in the shadows.

"Mikan, right?" The pixie one remarked.

"Yes," Mikan nodded; closing her notebook. She focused her attention on the two girls. "What's up?"

"The ceiling." The pixie absently replied. It seemed that she didn't mean to say that out loud when she covered her mouth in terror; but Mikan was grinning. She knew they'll get along just fine.

"H-how do you find the school so far?" The girl with the blue-colored hair asked.

Mikan thought the question was lame but she's going to give the girls an out. Mikan knew they were just making conversation. 'A' for effort.

"It's freaking mind-blowing?" Mikan's answer came out as a question; unsure on how to continue. An awkward silence ensued. For some odd reason, Mikan was getting a lot of that today.

The two girls suddenly erupted into a giggling mess and Mikan couldn't help but join in.

"I'm Nonoko Ogasawara and she's Anna Umenomiya." The blue-haired girl; Nonoko reached out her hand in greeting. Mikan smiled broadly; shaking Nonoko's waiting hand.

"Now, we're talking."

**_~o0O0o~_**

By the time Mikan and the twins reached the cafeteria; the hall was already full. Mikan made a quick attempt to exit the cafeteria but the twins were not going to have any of it. Anna grabbed Mikan's hand eagerly; she was so excited that she was bouncing from foot to foot—like a pixie would.

Nonoko ran to a table that had five people sitting around it. All of them were just dumbly staring at Mikan... but one from the group sputtered out the food he was wolfing down; his eyes widening with recognition.

Mikan; however, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

_'Fuck outta here!'_

"Come on, Mimi. Let's introduce you to the _Superfly Gang_."

**_~o0O0o~_**

**A/N: **How do I say this...** School's starting, and I won't be able to update as often as before.** Sucks, right? _(With all the long-ass homework and stuff) _Maybe every **two weeks** or less? But I would never lay off this story, that I can promise ya'll.

For the _lurkers_ reading this _(Yes, I'm referring to you)_, you're in for a surprise. So if you want to have an idea on what that might be, **REVIEW **& receive a _teaser_ in return!

If you're not able to log in, just put you're email address below. And please suggest _**nicknames**_ that Ruka could use for Mikan!

**Cheers,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


	6. Superfly Gang and The Crew

**VI. Superfly Gang and The Crew**

"_Superfly Gang?_ Cool name." Mikan nodded; approving of the group's name. No one was paying attention to what she was saying since they were all looking at their friend who choked on his food. After a few moments, Mikan finally focused her attention on the guy she hadn't seen for a while.

"Ya look like you've seen a ghost, Tsubasa." Mikan retorted; patting the young lad's back comfortingly. The rest sitting on the table regarded their exchange with interest. Tsubasa never told them anything about the young brunette.

"What do you expect, Mikan? It's been like, I don't know, _two months_ since we last seen each other?" Tsubasa unsurely stated after wiping his mouth with a table napkin.

"Why didn't you tell us, Andou?" A gorgeous red-haired girl asked haughtily; glaring daggers at the side of Tsubasa's head. Tsubasa was about to reply but Anna beat him to it.

"Ugh! Why do you know her already? You ruined our surprise!" Anna pouted before exchanging an annoyed look with Nonoko. Mikan was still confused on what was happening; aside from Tsubasa, she doesn't know anyone else.

"I still don't know you all except for Tsubasa here." Mikan remarked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hi, I'm a human. What are you?" A handsome, dirty blonde-haired guy let out a cheeky grin. The dude's grin was so huge that Mikan almost swore that he really was an alien in disguise. But maybe, that's just her crazy self talking.

"I'm a bag of chemicals trapped inside a sack of skin entwined amongst bones, fellow human." Mikan saucily winked. The guy let out a light chuckle before nodding his head approvingly.

"My name's Yome Kokoro, but humans call me Koko."

As if imaginary floodgates opened, all of them feverishly introduced themselves to an extremely overwhelmed Mikan.

The redhead earlier was Harada Misaki. Beside her was Tobita Yuu; a blonde teen wearing thick glasses.

The lad was so nervous that he kept blurting out nonsense; like he's a _brony_. He has three tarantulas and he tried watching _Teletubbies_ last week to see if he's still going to like it... Yuu rambled on and on until Misaki stuffed a hotdog in his mouth; effectively stopping him from making a fool out of himself.

The guy between Yuu and Koko was the last one to introduce himself. He was so bulky that he resembled a grizzly bear. He looked okay at first but when he spoke... _Oh God_.

"Hey, girly! I'm Kitsuneme." He sounded so... _gay_. Mikan stared at him dumbly for a good minute. Sure, Mikan had seen a lot of gay men and some of them even manlier than most men. But this guy was different, he looked like a wrestler but his voice was so... small and tiny that if you're not looking, you'd mistaken him for a little girl.

_'Maybe this dude hasn't hit puberty yet. Pity.'_

"For the record; I'm not gay, babe." Kitsuneme tried lowering his voice but it wasn't working; he sounded like a guy on crack.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Mikan made her voice teasing but she couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. Well, there's no use for that now, is it?

He's just a guy with a small voice but with a big heart. Talk about clichés.

She smiled widely at Kitsuneme one last time before grabbing his untouched burger from his tray.

"Now that that's settled, I'm gonna eat!" Mikan happily announced before taking a huge bite out of said burger despite Kitsuneme's protests and boisterous hoots from the others.

"Hey! Give it back!" Kitsuneme exclaimed half-heartedly. He knew that it was Mikan's way of lighting up the situation and she sure did deliver. The playful banters went on for what seemed like ages. They entertained Mikan with random stories; like how their gang name—Superfly, came about. By the end of the lunch period, they all looked like old friends reminiscing.

When Mikan was about to grab her things, however, Misaki, the redhead, stopped her from leaving. Mikan gazed confusedly at the girl, but sat herself down nonetheless.

"What?"

"Wait for it..." Was Misaki's only reply. As if that would answer Mikan's question.

All of a sudden, Mikan could hear squeals from girls all over the cafeteria making her drop the tray she was carrying. She tried to cover her ears in a vain attempt to prevent them from bleeding.

"Who died?"

All of them were screaming all at once but Mikan could only heed one; two words actually—_THE CREW_.

'_Who are they? Some kind of a dance troupe or something?'_ Mikan amusedly mused to herself as she looked at the squealing girls that sounded like piglets.

Tsubasa looked at the neighboring table; absolutely ticked off by the noise. Mikan, on the other hand, was conflicted on what she really felt about the sudden uproar: amusement or irritation? Amusement won.

"_Fuckin' hell!_ What was that? They're like pigs being handed for slaughter." Mikan quipped as she tried to find out what was the reason for the ruckus. Misaki rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at Mikan's joke while the rest chuckled lightly.

"_The Crew_," Yuu began; nonchalance dripping from his tone. He really doesn't care. "Are like the royalties in this school—" Yuu was abruptly cut off when the girls ran towards the cafeteria's door and held their breaths; seemingly awaiting for the arrival of 'The Crew'.

"This is just too much! Come on! Don't they have their own lives? Are these_ 'royalties' _so goddamn irresistible that everything revolves around them?" Mikan sneered as she shook her head in disappointment.

"The world has gone mad, I reckon."

"They are spoiled brats, Mimi. Believe it or not; they all hate each other. They're just together for the sake of keeping pretenses... coz' they're like the top five richest kids in this school." Nonoko whispered while staring at the horde of delusional students.

A few moments later, the cafeteria's entrance opened. A girl with a waist-length strawberry blonde hair and a terrible nose job entered first. She appeared to love the attention she was getting since she kept on throwing flying kisses every now and then. What a delusional bitch.

"Koizumi Luna is our head cheerleader." Anna whispered before looking at Mikan who scoffed in response.

"We're gonna lose every single game even if that girl is the school mascot... all the more if she's head cheerleader."

Next up were two women walking side by side. One girl had an icy blue, wavy hair that reaches her shoulders; she looked gorgeous but her azure eyes were dull and lifeless. The other one; however was... Hotaru. Yep, _that_ Hotaru.

Mikan was flabbergasted. She could still distantly remember the talk they had back at the lockers when Hotaru stated how much she hated the jocks who think they own the school...but she obviously left the part that she's one of them.

Anna's next words seemed too far away for Mikan to hear.

"Ibaragi Nobara is a musical prodigy. She plays like eleven different musical instruments. Imai Hotaru, on the other hand, is the President of the Newspaper Club. Both of them are renowned for being bitchy and aloof all the time—thus being called the _Ice Queens_."

Mikan's mouth went dry. She had a fairly good idea on who the last two members were.

As if they're at a movie premiere, most of the girls pulled out colorful banners from their bags and waved it over their heads frantically. There they were; Natsume and Ruka.

Natsume was a Greek God incarnate. He had this rugged, bad boy look going on. From his tanned skin, luscious raven hair, crimson eyes and masculine stature, he could easily make any girl swoon and make them dumber than a sack of doorknobs. He looked as if he'd rather be somewhere else than there... whilst, Ruka kept looking amongst the crowd as if he's looking for someone. A certain brunette, perhaps?

"Hyuuga Natsume is the Academy's star player. He plays for the football team as the Quarterback. The same goes for Nogi Ruka; but his position is Center." It was Tsubasa who introduced them to Mikan. Mikan arched a delicate eyebrow at that.

'_Who would have thunk that sweet bunny boy actually plays football?'_

_**~o0O0o~**_

And just like that, the students went back to eating their lunches while the 5 stoners sat silently on the table at the center of the cafeteria... except for Luna who kept on flashing her slimy cleavage to Natsume; much to his extreme distaste. Hotaru kept on glaring daggers at Ruka's direction. She really hated the dude, and the feeling was mutual.

They hated each other since ever. Ruka hated Hotaru's disgust with her school status. She would always pretend that she doesn't belong to the popular bunch. But it really didn't work that way—no matter how hard she tried to not be noticed, she came from a family of prominent inventors.

Her brother; Subaru Imai, was the dude who invented the _Butter Stick_. It may look like your traditional glue stick, but it's really made of butter. It's widely used by japs who were too lazy to even pick up a knife. And her father... Well, he worked hand in hand with Bandai in creating the game _Tamagotchi_. Who would've thunk that an old man made the oh so fluffy and cutesy _Tamagotchi_?

Hotaru; on the other hand... Well, she just hates bunnies and Ruka happens to love them. _Shallow much?_

Ruka kept on scanning the cafeteria until his eyes finally landed at the back of a certain female.

Ruka unknowingly let out a small smile as he continued to stare at her. No one on the table but Natsume noticed it. As Natsume followed his best friend's gaze, his eyes considerably widened when he realized that Ruka was in fact; staring at a girl... but not just any girl; it's the newbie—_Mikan Yukihira_. Natsume had heard several things about her since she's currently the talk of the whole school.

Natsume let out a small smirk of his own and ran his hand through his tousled mop of luscious raven hair. Natsume gets the girl first every single time. Then after he dumps her, he'll hand Ruka free reigns to do whatever he wants with said girl... But now? It seemed that Ruka was about to break the rules and Natsume's not going to allow that now, is he?

_'Un-acc-fucking-ceptable. Ruka knew how things worked, and if I couldn't hit that, he certainly wouldn't. I would not let that happen.'_ Natsume thought to himself as he tapped Ruka's shoulder lightly to get his attention. He knew that distraction was key.

"So, Ruka." Natsume casually started. Ruka looked up, curiosity looming over his face.

"Do you want to go to the _Zero_ after school? I heard there's a new band's playing. Indie rock brings the best chicks." Natsume gave Ruka his best rogueish grin, which he reluctantly returned much slower than Natsume would have liked.

_'I had to get this boy distracted, pronto. I want the new girl all to myself.'_

_**~o0O0o~**_

"Mimi, I think Ruka Nogi's was just staring at you a second ago." Misaki muttered disbelievingly. Everyone's eyes widened as they confusedly look at Mikan. Mikan didn't even bat an eyelash at that information.

"Detention."

All of them immediately knew exactly what that meant. Anna started excitedly bouncing on her seat as she continued to look at Mikan in awe.

"How? No one gets his attention that easily. Amazing."

Mikan smirked amusedly and crossed her arms against her chest in defiance.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't give a flying fudge."

**_~o0O0o~_**

The last two hours after lunch were full of teachers discussing what they expect this school year and where will they base the students' grades... Like the students care.

Instead of listening, Mikan spent her time plotting if she'll talk herself into detention again and sneak out to get the hell out of the school... but Youichi and Koko; who was also one of her classmates during the period; were always there to refrain Mikan whenever she felt like putting the teachers in a headlock out of sheer boredom.

"Finafuckingly, school's done! Definitely the longest day in my life. I swear, this..." Koko frantically spread his arms out to indicate that he was talking about his surroundings. "... is really a torture chamber in disguise." Koko exclaimed as he walked together with Mikan and Youichi towards the parking area.

"Uh-huh. We still have like 179 days left, guys." Youichi subtly reminded them. Koko just groaned in response while Mikan rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"You don't need to remind us. That's the job of our alarm clocks, brother bear."

"Come on! It can't be that bad."

**_~o0O0o~_**

It was nightfall when Mikan arrived to her cabin. She didn't waste any time as hurriedly freshened herself up before propping herself onto the couch. She opened the TV and stared blindly at whatever was showing.

Mikan's thoughts swirled around what had occurred earlier—her being detained; _Blondie, the something gang, and the dance troupe wannabes_... Mikan still couldn't process the fact that Hotaru was one of them. Hotaru's a good person—that, she's sure. Mikan knew that the hatred she saw in Hotaru's eyes as she talked about them was true, but back in the cafeteria; her pools of amethyst were void of any emotion... _dead_.

Mikan didn't know how long she sat there and stared at the ever-changing images on the screen, but before she knew it, two hours had fleetingly gone by. She was so out of it.

Mikan hastily threw her fluffy slippers on the ground before lying against the warmth brought on by the silky sheets of her bed. She slowly closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness...

_**~o0O0o~**_

_Pit-a-Pat. He's here? Why is he here?_

"Mikan, who's the guy you're with earlier?" A tall teen with fiery, red hair demands as he takes a firm hold of Mikan's wrist. Unadulterated fear is coursing through Mikan's veins as she tries to avoid looking into the guy's livid orbs that are full of hatred.

"He's just a _frie—_" Mikan is abruptly cut off when the red-haired man roughly shoves her against the wall.

_Slam. Crack_. Pain shot through Mikan as quickly as it had came.

_'That's gonna leave a bruise.'_ Mikan bitterly thinks. The redhead leans so close to Mikan that she could almost taste his sickly sweet breath.

"I know there's more than you're letting on, you little bitch... and I will not tolerate the next time I see you with that guy." The man forcibly drops Mikan onto the ground and walks up the stairs. Mikan wounds her arms around her frame in an attempt to pull herself together, thankful that it's over... but he's not quite finished yet.

"Be thankful that's all I did... I'm not going to be too forgiving the second time around." He grins before winking maliciously; his pitch-black eyes holding such dark promises...

_Help me, anyone._

_**~o0O0o~**_

Mikan's eyes shot open; her heart racing from sheer fright. Her breaths came out in short, heavy pants. She was drenched in cold sweat—tiny beads running down her face and her palms.

Mikan looked around the room; wide eyed, making sure she was in her cabin and not back in that hellhole.

_'It's just a dream, Mikan. Just a dream.' _Was Mikan's mantra to herself as she willed herself to calm down.

Summing up her courage, she grudgingly looked at her alarm clock in order to confirm her suspicions that her nightmare was the inevitable continuation of what she had thought to be over and done years ago... and sure enough—it was _2:37 AM_.

_'Why? Why the fuck is this happening to me again?'_

_**~o0O0o~**_

**A/N:** It's 'bout time I give ya'll something interesting.

You know the guy; I'll give you that as the first clue. There's more surprises to come, I reckon.

You know the drill: Review and get a mean teaser in return! You can guess who the redhead is as early as now! But keep it to yourselves first, so there'll still be an element of surprise when I introduce the lad.

**Cheers and Review,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


	7. Polka Dots

**VII. Polka Dots**

The shrill beeping of the alarm awakened Mikan from her dreamless slumber. Mikan didn't know how long the rays of sunlight had peeked through the gaps in the curtains before they found their way to her face; nor does she know how long it took her to become aware of them.

Since Mikan woke up from her nightmare last night, ghosts of the past had flooded her mind. She could still remember the distinct metallic taste of the blo—_No_. She refrained herself from finishing that train of thought. She'd gone through enough to know that it will only bring her harm.

She didn't want to go back to sleep; afraid that she'll dream of something worse... Until she remembered that she had packed in her duffel bag a box of sleeping pills that her doctor had prescribed in case her nightmares would return.

Mikan rubbed her knuckles against her eyes to drive away the sleep and tried to remember what she was supposedly doing today.

_'Oh, yeah... school. My favorite.'_

_**~o0O0o~**_

Unlike yesterday, Mikan didn't acknowledge Hotaru's presence one bit. Mikan didn't even heed Hotaru's way once as she pretended to listen to Ms. Serina's lecture. When the classes ended, however; Hotaru hastily blocked the door, preventing Mikan and some students from exiting the room.

"Mikan, we need to talk." As Hotaru said this, she glared at the students who were eyeing her and Mikan with interest. The students hurriedly scurried off the room in response.

"Then, talk."

"I know you're probably upset with me for lying to you about who I am... I'm sorry." Hotaru reduced her speech to a whisper when she said the last part. Mikan could tell that Hotaru wasn't used to apologizing.

"Why lie? Why lie if you knew that I'm going to know all about it just a few hours after that?" There was no animosity in Mikan's voice. Her voice just held pure curiosity about what Hotaru's reason was.

"Whenever I tell someone who I came from a rich family, they'll all pretend to be my friends. They treated me like their own personal credit card... but I want you to see me more than that."

It was obvious that Hotaru didn't know that Mikan is the sole daughter of the infamous Yuka Azumi; one of the wealthiest personalities in the country. It's probably because of the fact that Mikan retained her father's surname—Yukihira.

Mikan looked at Hotaru for a moment before doing what she normally doesn't do—pulling someone into a tight hug. Hotaru momentarily stiffened at the sudden contact before relinquishing in it as she patted Mikan's back soothingly.

"Friends?" Mikan asked after a while.

_Friends. _Hotaru didn't realize until that moment how important that simple word was to her. She realized that she was in fact; _a loner._ Aside from her arrogant brother; who all could talk about is how good _butter stick_ is, she doesn't have anyone else to talk to... even if it was as basic as what _toothpaste_ is she going to use.

Yes. She was _that_ lonely.

But when Hotaru first saw Mikan, she instantly knew that the girl was different... and now she know why.

Hotaru seemingly took forever in gathering her thoughts. But when she was done; she let out a broad smile before linking her arms with Mikan's—both of which she rarely do.

"Friends."

_**~o0O0o~**_

After that, Mikan noticed that Hotaru had a 360 degree turn from her aloof attitude. Hotaru was always there waiting for Mikan outside of her classroom at the end of each period... and she'll always smile each time Mikan would ask her something. Everyone would look at Hotaru in puzzlement since it was their first time seeing the girl act that way.

Before they knew it, it was already lunch time. For some reason, Hotaru looked so dejected at the prospect of eating. Mikan gazed at her worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

"Could you seat with _us_?" Mikan instantly knew what Hotaru was asking. Hotaru wanted her to sit with _The Crew_.

"I don't know..." Mikan trailed off; unsure on how she'll continue without hurting Hotaru's feelings. Mikan felt like she's going to intrude their little private circle if ever she joined them. Add the fact that the delusional slimy bitch was gonna be there. Yuck.

"Come on. Just this once? I'm going to introduce you to the others." Hotaru smiled hopefully at Mikan. Mikan just sighed in frustration.

_'Why can't life just be easy?'_

Taking Mikan's silence as a _'yes',_ Hotaru grabbed her hand and burst through the entrance of the cafeteria. All eyes were on them as her and Mikan got their meals. Mikan subtly hid her face beneath her auburn tresses; it was her defense mechanism for attention, but Hotaru was not having any of it.

"You're doing it again."

"What?" Mikan confusedly asked; unable to comprehend what Hotaru just said.

"Hiding behind your hair. You'll look like that girl who crawls out of the TV—sorry, not a movie fan; if you don't do something about that. Confidence, my friend. Work on it."

Much to Mikan's delight, only three out of the five were present; Natsume and Luna were nowhere to be found. It seemed that Hotaru also noticed the absence of the two for she sighed in relief as they walked towards the table. By now, everyone in the cafeteria were looking at them; most were bewildered at the prospect of Mikan sitting at the Crew's table while some—a mere minority, were indifferent. By minority; meaning the Superfly gang.

"God, they're looking at us like we're some freak show or something. It's unnerving." Mikan remarked as she rolled her eyes at the attention they were getting.

"We can't do anything about it. Trust me, I tried. Once, I practically yelled at their faces to call them out of it but after a few days; they're at it like hawks again."

When Hotaru sat on her usual space on the table, she pulled Mikan between her and Nobara—who was surprised since Hotaru never had a close friend in this school; much less that she'll bring someone to sit on their table. She didn't really care... but that may as well be the understatement of the century.

"Pumpkin?" It was Ruka who first broke the silence. Both Hotaru and Nobara looked at him oddly before looking at their tray. Nope, no pumpkin there. Mikan, however, just threw her head back laughing.

"Oh my god. No. Just no. Think of something else."

"Huh?" Nobara confusedly asked; looking between Mikan and Ruka.

"Nicknames and all that jazz." Mikan replied casually. Hotaru's eyes widened at that.

"You've already met each other before?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't I know about this? I'm supposed to know this..." Hotaru muttered lowly to herself before pulling her phone out of her denim pocket. She frantically fired away text after text; her fingers almost too fast for the other three to see. After a few seconds, Hotaru's phone resounded a shrill beep.

"If you'll excuse me."

With that, she practically jumped off the table and sprinted towards the exit of the cafeteria.

"Umm... What's wrong with her?"

"Imai's not used to not knowing every single thing in this school; no matter how small it is."

"Uh-huh. Does she need to know the color of my underwear or something?"

Nobara looked at Mikan wide-eyed before letting out a small giggle. She's not used to someone talking to her that way. Everyone acted so formal around her.

"Well, that too." Ruka simply said as he nodded thoughtfully. He looked so serious at the moment that Mikan almost believed him.

"Nice try, dumbass." Mikan half-smirked; playfully punching Ruka's arm.

"Seriously though, Hotaru's not elected as the prez of the Newspaper club for nothing." Ruka laced his hands together and leaned towards Mikan's direction before continuing in a somber tone for added effect.

"She takes her job very seriously, Jelly Bean."

_**~o0O0o~**_

As the school bell rang—signaling the end of another school day; Mikan shot out from her seat and hurriedly walked towards the parking lot. She just wanted to take a nice, long, hot shower as soon as she get back to her cabin. And she's not gonna have any time for that if she'll wait for Youichi, who has football practice. 'Till six in the evening. At the second day of school. Sucks to be him.

Which reminds Mikan: She needs to try-out to clubs so that she'll have something else to do other than a bunch of homework.

"Mikan!" A booming voice called out as Mikan was about to rev up the engine of Cherry Bud. Mikan sighed in frustration before turning to face the source of the annoying voice.

'_Well, there goes my nice, hot shower.'_

"What do you want, Koko? I'm in a hurry."

"Ouch, Mimi. Is that how you treat a friend?" Koko asked; all the while looking at Mikan with mock-hurt.

"How about we repeat from the start?"

"Sure... Mikan!" Koko yelled excitedly right at Mikan's ear causing the girl to jump in shock before cradling her poor ear.

"You asshole! You don't need to shout right at my ear!"

"Now, now. That's just plain rude, Mikan!" Koko crossed his arms against his chest as he stared at Mikan; clearly upset.

Mikan looked at Koko blankly. What did she do wrong? Mikan deemed that she should be the one angry and not the dude. A few moments have passed, but no one was saying anything. Mikan pulled on her auburn tresses in frustration when she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"I can't believe I'm saying this... but I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for letting you scream at my poor ear. There, happy? Or do you want me to kneel by your feet?"

Koko still didn't say anything after that. He kept looking at Mikan as if he was waiting for something. Her eyes widened in incredulity when she realized what Koko wanted her to do.

"Seriously?"

Hesitantly, Mikan was about to kneel on one leg when Koko began laughing his ass off. He threw his head back and bit his fist in an attempt to control himself.

"You should have seen your face!" Koko bellowed between guffaws.

"Ugh, Shut up! Seriously, what do you want?" Mikan rolled her eyes in exasperation before looking at Koko.

"Could you come with me to the bookstore? Ms. Serina will kill me if I don't have that Jane Eyre book by tomorrow. I don't have a ride and the others have things to do... You're my last resort, Mimi."

"As much as I want to, I ca—" Mikan didn't finish her sentence when she saw Koko's eyes watering. Darn it.

"Please?"

_'Oh well, that shower can wait.'_

"Hop on." Mikan reluctantly declared before straddling Cherry Bud. Well, that just sounded wrong.

"Are you really going to ride your bike wearing that?" Koko asked; gesturing towards Mikan's clothing. Mikan, in turn; skeptically looked down at what she's wearing.

"Nothing's wrong with it, Koko. It's just a skirt and a cropped top."

"A skirt, Mimi. That's what's wrong. Doesn't it fly all the way up when it gets all windy or something?"

"Umm... Well, I've been wearing skirts while riding bikes back at my old school but it never did 'fly up'. But if it did 'fly up', you'll not look, okay?" With that, Mikan slyly winked at Koko before wearing her riding gear.

"This is gonna be a long ride."

_**~o0O0o~**_

"You could stay in that café while waiting. The bill's on me." Koko pointed at the nearby café before sprinting towards the bookstore; leaving Mikan to her own thoughts.

_'If I'm going to wait, might as well bring a book.' _Mikan thought to herself before grabbing her tattered copy of _The Great Gatsby_ from her bag.

As Mikan started towards the café, she could see a couple smiling at each other by the window. Just like that, seeing them triggered a distant memory from the innermost depths of Mikan's mind...

**_~o0O0o~_**

Mikan is sitting in a secluded corner of the café. She keeps on glancing at her watch impatiently as if she is waiting for someone. As she takes a small sip of her warm coffee, she takes notice of a red-haired guy out of the corner of her eye.

"You're late!" Mikan pouts at the redhead. The red-haired teen lets out a deep, throaty chuckle in response.

"Aww, don't be such a baby, M&M." The redhead coos teasingly; using his favorite nickname for Mikan.

_**~o0O0o~**_

Mikan snapped out from her reverie when she heard her book hit the ground. She looked at it blankly; still slightly out of it.

"Oh, shit!"

When Mikan went to pick it up however; she heard someone amusedly chuckling behind her. Book forgotten, she faced the person at her rear... and was surprised to see that it was none other than the lad with an uncanny hair obssession; _Natsume Hyuuga_.

"Need help with that, _Polka Dots_?" The young lad asked teasingly. Mikan furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at Natsume's use of a nickname for her.

"So we're in nickname basis now?"

"Oh, no. We're much closer than that." Natsume seriously began. He smirked boyishly when he saw Mikan raised a delicate eyebrow. He crossed his firm arms against his chest before continuing.

"I mean, we're practically in underwear basis now."

It took Mikan a good minute to understand what Natsume meant by that... as if an imaginary light bulb lighted up, Mikan remembered that she had in fact, worn her favorite pair of panties today... They are _Polka Dotted_ to be precise.

_'Oh. My. Fudging. God.'_

"Y-you pervert!"

"Nu-uh. You shoved it in my face. Big difference, Polka." Natsume scoffed before purposely letting out a sexy half smirk.

"Don't call me that! And you were looking at it. Big difference, asshole!" Mikan bellowed before unconsciously pulling at the hem of her skirt.

"And now you want to talk about my ass? _Tsk_" Natsume sneered before mockingly shaking his head. Mikan just openly gawked at the lad in response.

'_Unbelievable! Who does this guy think he is? Freakin' twat, that's who.'_

"Admit it. You're a bigger pervert than me, Polka." Natsume lowered his voice before doing a suggestive wink. But before Mikan could form a retort, Koko came running towards them with a book on his hand.

"What are you doing here, man?" Koko asked Natsume after doing that weird, complicated handshake that most guys do.

"Decided to skip practice today. Coach doesn't know when to take a break." Natsume rolled his eyes exaggeratedly before looking at Mikan, who was still not saying anything. She was stunned. It was her first time meeting someone who could challenge her wits.

"I gotta go, Polka." With a final salute at Koko's direction, he sauntered towards the opposite direction.

"_Polka_? What kind of nickname was that?" Koko asked Mikan as soon as Natsume was out of hearing distance.

An unconscious smirk fleeted across Mikan's face as she recollected what Natsume had said earlier.

_'Not nickname, Koko... we're in underwear basis.'_

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Koko gazed at Mikan confusedly. Mikan, on the other hand, didn't realize that she said that out loud as her hazel eyes visibly widened.

"Mind your own beeswax, dude."

_**~o0O0o~**_

**A/N: **And finally, they met! That's just the start of their many encounters. I loved the way this Natsume challenged Mikan; wits and all.

_Clue on what's gonna happen on the next chapter: Silly Walkie Talkie nicknames and more Natsume!_

Ya'll know the drill: _REVIEW_ & get a mean teaser in return!

**Cheers,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


	8. Sergeant Sexy

**A/N: **Here's a lil' sankyuu to _funky husky_ for the title of this chapter!

**VIII. Sergeant Sexy**

"Willy Foo Foo, come in. Over."

"Tits McGee, this is Willy Foo Foo. Go ahead."

"Willy Foo Foo, the spider has caught the fly, I repeat, the spider has caught the fly. Do you copy? Over." Mikan whispered; nearing the microphone of the walkie talkie against her mouth as she continued to hide behind the bushes.

"Copy that, Tits McGee. Saw the spider. He's huge, by the way. Do we save the fly? Over." Youichi whispered back conspiratorially from the opposite side of the front lawn.

It's Saturday... and Youichi wanted to test his ancient walkie talkies that go all the way back when he still wanted to be some sort of a top secret agent, and that seemed to be ages ago. And so he told Mikan; who was all too willing to help him. God knows how they ended up in the front lawn; spying on a spider and a fly like it's a highly dangerous mission. Add the fact that Mikan was humming to the theme song of Mission Impossible at every chance she got.

"No, that will be highly dangerous, Willy Foo Foo. We let the fly escape at the last second. Over." Mikan whispered back as she eyed the minuscule spider 5 meters ahead of her.

"Roger tha—Fubar, Fubar!" Youichi yelled frantically as he tried to ran towards the spider who was about to eat the fly. But Youichi was running too fast so when he was nearing the two insects, he lost his balance and started to flail his arms in panic... resulting him to crush his body above said insects.

"Ew. That's totally gross, bro!" Mikan exclaimed before wrinkling her nose in disgust. Youichi just rolled his eyes before standing up and dusting his pants. Mikan could see the remnants of the insects on Youichi's white shirt causing her to blanch.

As soon as Youichi was done, he started stalking towards Mikan with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mikan was shocked when Youichi hugged her... and started rubbing against her the part of his shirt that has the crushed spider on it.

"Yuck! Don't touch me!" Mikan yelled as she started to run the opposite way of the laughing lad.

_**~o0O0o~**_

After what had occurred at the front lawn, Mikan decided to take her Cherry Bud for a spin since she never really did spend time with her... AND to escape from Youichi's evil clutches.

As Mikan roam around the town, she loved how her hair gently whip against the afternoon breeze and how the city's view was blurred at the inhumane speed Cherry Bud was going. It was all surreal for her... until she heard her stomach grumble in protest.

'_Ugh, I'm starving.'_ Mikan thought to herself as she gradually slowed Cherry down. She looked at the lovely, bright lights emitting from the tall buildings and the headlights of the cars. Up ahead, she could see a familiar logo—McDonalds. Mikan was momentarily taken aback when she first saw the fast food. When was the last time she ate in one? When she was still back with her father; that's when.

'_Cheeseburger sounds good to me. Yum.'_

Mikan then eagerly parked in front of McDonalds and pulled the key out of the ignition.

"Be good, Cherry."

Being inside of a fast food after so long brought back both good and bad memories Mikan had unknowingly forgotten...

**_~o0O0o~_**

"Come on, Mikan!" The red-haired teen exclaims as he eagerly pulls on Mikan's hand. It is already dusk and they are currently at the entrance of a seafood bistro.

Mikan is adamant not to go since it is getting late and Izumi would probably bust a gut looking for her. But knowing the redhead; he will do just about anything in order to get what he wants.

"But—"

"Please?" The gent smirks when he sees Mikan hesitantly nodding her head. He knows he had just won.

_**~o0O0o~**_

Mikan shook her head to clear her mind. She didn't know why of all the memories that she could ever think of; she remembered being with that asshole. Ever since she woke up from that nightmare the other day, forbidden memories kept on coming back at the back her head; just waiting to be unleashed. It was as if she held no control of the direction where her thoughts were going.

But there's no use for that now. She would not allow a single thought ruin her funk.

_'Nothing beats a good ol' cheeseburger.' _

Mikan let out a shit-eating grin as she took a huge bite out of the burger.

Several _lickin' good_ minutes later, Mikan decided to head back to her cabin before the sun sets. However, when Mikan tried to accelerate all the gears of Cherry, she felt loud _"bumps"_ resonating from the engine as if it was struggling to function. Mikan pulled to the side of the road to check on her bike.

'_This is not supposed to be happening. I had this overhauled a month ago!' _Mikan sighed in frustration. She bent over to check on the fuel filter but when she saw that nothing appears to be wrong with its outer shell, she then proceeded to blow in its line-in to see if it's clogged.

"Bingo!" Mikan muttered triumphantly before wiping her lips to remove the gas that came from the filter. Now that she knew the source of the problem, she just needed to tow it to her cabin since all the tools she'll need were in there. But how is she going to do that all by herself?

'_I'll just call Youichi to come pick me up.' _With that, Mikan went to get her phone from her front denim pocket... but it was not there.

She hastily stood up and start searching in all of her pockets; examining every single tear in her jeans to see if her phone was in there but it appeared that it had gone completely A.W.O.L.. Mikan started pulling at her auburn strands out of the frustration of finding it. She tried remembering every little detail of what she did earlier to relocate where the tiny device was.

Mikan then remembered a significant detail that she'll rather forget... her phone was in her school bag. Back in her cabin.

"Yay! Go me." Note the sarcasm. Mikan groaned as she sat down on the ground in defeat; leaning against Cherry Bud. She sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out ways to call Youichi—or any person for that matter. There were no houses in the vicinity since their mansion was in a far more secluded place.

_'I swear, we're like vampires except for the blood drinking part.'_

She didn't know how long she sat there sulking but she suddenly heard a familiar roar of an engine from a distance. Mikan rose to her feet and ran towards the middle of the road and started flailing her hands up in the air.

When she could see a black vehicle fast approaching, she doubled her efforts. She pumped her fist in the air triumphantly when she saw the sedan gradually reducing speed. She ran towards the car the moment it came to a stop. Mikan couldn't help but notice that the person's car was expensive—a Mercedes even.

_'Hot ride.' _Mikan whistled; impressed by the exterior of the vehicle.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she went to knock on the dark tinted window. As the window slowly rolled down, Mikan noticed the person's raven hair, tanned skin, crimson eyes—

'_Wait, back up. Is that the lame Polka dude?'_

"Car trouble... The heck, Polka?" Natsume seemed to be equally surprised seeing the young brunette. Mikan was still stunned to silence when she registered that it was indeed Natsume.

'_No way... He must be stalking me. I thought this only happens in movies.'_

"Cherr—My bike's fuel filter was clogged and I need to tow it to my house. Badly." Mikan deadpanned as she placed her trembling hand against her face in an attempt to calm herself down.

Natsume just nodded thoughtfully in response before going out of his car and grabbing Mikan's motorcycle; much to Mikan's utter surprise.

"Hey, don't touch Cherry Bud..." Mikan trailed off when she heard Natsume laughing—it was a deep and rich sound. He disguised it as a cough as soon as he saw Mikan staring daggers at him; he didn't want to hurt the brunette's feelings... or him being hurt by her. But the reason was really more of the latter... Knowing Mikan, who knows what she'll do?

"Cherry Bud? You named your bike _Cherry Bud_?" Natsume asked as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Yeah. It's not like I named her _Pimple Studmuffin_... and what are you doing?" Mikan raised a delicate eyebrow when she saw Natsume lifting Cherry Bud all the way to the back of his car.

"Take a chill pill, Polka. I'm just going to connect your bike to my car's hitch receiver." Natsume smirked before crouching down at the back of his car to connect the motorcycle to his car with a cable. But before Mikan could reply, she heard him mutter something under his breath that made her guffaw boisterously.

"Sergeant Sexy meet Cherry Bud. Cherry Bud meet Sergeant Sexy... C'mon don't be shy, shake her side mirror." Natsume pat his car encouragingly before glancing at Mikan's bike. Mikan, on the other hand, bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from losing it.

"You're worse than me! Sergeant Sexy... _pfft! _Who names the cars like that?"

"Buzz off." Natsume rolled his eyes before continuing working.

"C'mon, don't be shy." Mikan lowered her voice and tried mimicking Natsume's husky tone. She sounded constipated though causing Natsume to arch a delicate eyebrow in incredulity.

"That is an awful impersonation, I must say..." Natsume began. He continued on pulling on the cable to tie it securely to his car before moving on to the bike. While he kept his hands busy, he continued.

"Sergeant Sexy. Uhh... my sister—Aoi, and I had this deal. I'll name my car Sergeant Sexy if she'll name hers..._ 'Broseidon, Ruler of the Brocean'_." Natsume used air quotes to emphasize the last part before grinning lazily. Mikan just looked at him wide-eyed before shaking her head in disbelief.

"No way! Are you kidding me?"

Natsume tied the cable against the bike knot upon knot before letting out a satisfied smirk.

"Yes way... There. We're good to go. Where do you live anyway?"

Natsume leaned on his car before looking at Mikan inquisitively. Mikan just smirked in response before patting the lad's temple lightly.

"Don't worry your pretty little head."

**_~o0O0o~_**

"Polka, you sure you're not playing with me?" Natsume asked as he continued to look at the gigantic mansion skeptically. When they got there a few moments ago, Natsume insisted that Mikan was playing a huge joke on him.

Mikan just rolled her eyes before leaning on the backrest tiredly.

When Natsume drove down the driveway, he instantly knew that the mansion belongs to one Yuka Azumi; the greatest competitor of her mom in Interior Designing. By then, Natsume had came to a conclusion that there's just no way that the young girl beside him lived here since the last time he checked, Yuka doesn't have any distant relatives left... much less a daughter. But how wrong he was.

"For the hundredth time: Yes, I live here. Now, if you'll excuse me." Mikan hastily opened the door and sprinted as fast as she can towards the front door to prevent Natsume from stopping her.

"What ar—" Natsume was cut off when the front door suddenly burst open, revealing a worried-faced Yuka.

"Where were you? I'm this close to sending my guards to find you!" Yuka made a pinching gesture with her fingers to emphasize her point before pulling Mikan into a tight hug. She patted her mom's back and whispered her reply.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, mom. My bike broke down on the road and I forgot my phone back in the cabin and I—"

"It's okay."

Natsume; who had been silently watching the exchange the whole time was shell-shocked. He could have sworn that Mikan addressed Yuka as her 'Mom'. At that moment, dust seemed to clear up from his mind as he began to notice the subtle resemblance between the two.

Anxiousness coursed through Natsume's veins. He knew that his mother would throw a fit if she knew that after all this years, Yuka had been hiding her ultimate weapon against her—the sole heiress of her company. He knew that his mother will perceive this as a new opportunity to try and ruin her enemy's life.

_'Mom will never learn about this. I'm not going to allow it.'_

Mikan slightly pushed Yuka away before looking at Natsume excitedly. Smiling, she turned to face Yuka, who appeared to had just noticed the lad behind Mikan.

"Mom, this is Natsume Hyuuga. He was the one who helped me bring Cherry back here."

"Hey Aunt. How you doin'?" It was Natsume who first broke the ice. Mikan raised an eyebrow in question upon hearing his casual greeting.

"You know each other?"

"Natsume here is the son of a... friend." Yuka replied hesitantly as if she did not want to give any further information. Mikan nodded but her reply held a slight suspicion in it that did not escape Yuka's notice.

"Friend. Huh. Well, we'll just go drop Cherry at my cabin, then."

**_~o0O0o~_**

"Why's your surname Yukihira?" Natsume asked as they walked to Mikan's cabin.

"It's a long story."

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I understand." Natsume replied; his eyes wide, his face serious and stern. Natsume was guilt-tripping Mikan into telling him. He could tell that Mikan had also caught up on it when she pleadingly looked at him.

Natsume guiltily looked away. He made sure that his face looked crest-fallen before sighing in defeat for added effect.

"I'm sorry if I..." Natsume trailed off; pretending not to know what to say. He knew he had succeeded when Mikan sighed and sat on a huge rock. Natsume smirked discreetly in response.

_'Oh, yeah. Bring in the Oscar.'_

"You must be wondering why after all this years, it's your first time hearing that Yuka has a daughter, right? Sometimes, I ask myself that question, too." Mikan began before looking at Natsume sadly.

"17 long years. That's how long she left my father and me without any reason at all—or so I thought. Then one day, Yuka ordered him to ship me here; all the while sprouting nonsense about getting to know me and all that jazz.

"Let's just say that I forgave Yuka for her sheer stupidity that led her to think that she's doing what she deemed best for me."

Mikan took a deep breath to calm herself down. A small part of Natsume wanted to comfort her but he didn't know how to do it. All he did was awkwardly stare at his companion.

Natsume couldn't help but feel ashamed with the thoughts he had had regarding Mikan. _You know—like the crappy 'Rule' he and Ruka foolishly established?_ He was starting to see that Mikan was more than just the _Newbie_. He was starting to see her in a different light. He ran his hand through his messy raven locks before momentarily glancing at Mikan.

'_The fluffy stuff? The cuddling and the soft words? Nope, that's not me. After all, I am not the warmest person in the world.'_

But words of encouragement, he could do. So talk he does.

"You're a strong person... Mikan. Unlike most people, you made a choice that you're ready to move on. You rose up and roared out that you don't care how hard it was and you're not going to let that get the best of you. You are the strongest person that I've been blessed of meeting and for that; You make me proud, Polka. Thank you for giving me a chance to get to know the real you."

Mikan let out a radiant smile. It was a beautiful sight. All the pain in her eyes faded away; replaced by happiness and awe for the man beside her.

"I didn't know that you have it in you." Mikan teased. Honestly, she didn't know that she needed to hear those words to truly let the pain go. She gazed at the sun setting over the horizon and grinned; glee radiating in her every pore. Natsume, on the other hand, was left wandering through his own thoughts.

'_Good. Happy is good... But being happy with me is even better.'_

_**~o0O0o~**_

**A/N: **And there you go. No cliffhangers, no controversies. Just a sweet evening of Mikan and Natsume getting to know each other.

Clue regarding the next chapter: You're gonna get answers!

You know the drill: _Review_ and get a teaser in return!

**Cheerios, **

**Major Sugar Assassin**


	9. Tits McGee vs Delusional Bitch

**IX. Tits McGee vs. Delusional Bitch**

It's Monday again and Mikan was more grumpy than usual. When she's grumpy that means she's nastier and more sarcastic than usual which denotes bad—very bad and troublesome things are about happen.

For an instance, four years ago, when Mikan was still studying in Okinawa; she had asked Izumi to let her stay in the dormitory at her school.

There was this chick named Yuri Miyazono on her floor who was extremely vain, and proud of her long midnight blue hair. She had made Mikan's life hell during finals by playing the most annoying music she could find; for Mikan, at least. She also had one particular shower stall that she loved, and didn't want anyone else to use.

So Mikan and her neighbors in that certain floor got together, in a conspiracy with the maintenance guy. They filled her shower head with red _Kool-Aid _so that when she stepped under it she'd be coated with a sticky red substance. Then they filled the second shower head with blue _Jell-o_ powder, and the third with instant lemonade. Also, Mikan asked the maintenance guy to turn off the water in that bathroom upon her signal.

So _Blue Barbie_; Mikan's nickname for Yuri, got into the shower, and got covered in red. Got into the second shower to rinse off the red, and got covered in blue, then in the third shower; got covered in yellow. Then the water stopped in all the shower stalls altogether.

Blue Barbie had to walk through the entire school, including the public areas, to get to the women's washroom in the other wing to wash it all off. It took her five bottles of shampoo to get the sugar out of her hair, and top it all off; she was already late for her class.

Mikan took a lot of pictures of the amusing incident and became the richest kid in that school.

_'Ah. Good times, good times.'_

Mikan gazed at her reflection on the mirror in her cabin. For some reason, Mikan felt the need to fix herself up. She has a certain feeling in her gut; she's just not sure whether it's good or bad. Nonetheless, it had prompted Mikan to spice up her clothing choices a bit.

Her outfit consisted of a black T-shirt with _'ROCK CHICK' _written on it in bold, fancy gold letters; a huge leather belt that have all sorts of studs and metal zips on it, a ripped acid wash jeans, and a pair of black Dr. Marten high-heeled spike boots. Of course, how could Mikan ever forget; her trusty leather jacket. _Hot Dayum!_

**_~o0O0o~_**

As Mikan had expected, every single person at the academy turned to look at her. She scanned the parking lot and smirked wickedly when she found what she was looking for. The air was thick with guys' cat calls at the vivacious female as she sauntered towards the Superfly gang in the parking area. They were all huddled in one corner beside Tsubasa's car.

Tsubasa was the first one who noticed Mikan. His eyes widened as huge as saucers when he saw her coming. He hastily pushed away Koko, who was blocking his view. Koko, in turn; focused his gaze on what seemed to have caught Tsubasa's attention. By now, all of them have already noticed the young brunette.

"Where's the party, Hotstuff?" Tsubasa lowly whistled before slowly twirling Mikan in front of him.

"The party's just starting, Big Guy." Mikan winked saucily all the while playing with a lock of her auburn hair between her fingers. Mikan sounded confident, but she really has no clue what was in store for her.

**_~o0O0o~_**

When Mikan entered her 1st period, every student immediately focused their undivided attention to her but Mikan quickly dismissed them with a flick of her finger. She walked towards her raven-haired seat mate who was furiously typing away on her laptop.

"What'cha Doin'?" Mikan childishly drawled like that little girl scout from Phineas & Ferb. Hotaru looked up from her laptop as if she was about to reply but stopped when she caught sight of what Mikan was wearing.

"Come on, it's not that bad! It's not like I'm wearing a pink tutu." Mikan pouted exaggeratedly. Hotaru smiled fondly at her in reply.

"It's not that. No offense, but I'm just used to you wearing a plain shirt and ratty sneakers?" Hotaru's statement came out as a question as if she was gauging what Mikan's reaction would be.

"Just one of those days when I'm bored out of my mind." Mikan didn't elaborate any further as Ms. Serina entered the room.

**_~o0O0o~_**

"How are you all able to eat this... green stuff? What's in it?" Mikan wrinkled her nose in disgust as she continued to toy with her food.

When Lunch Break had come on, Mikan was surprised to see that the old woman behind the counter dumped a massive, mashed green stuff in her plate. Mikan spent a good minute gawking at it as if it was a new type of specimen. The next student in line had to tap her shoulder to snap her out of it. Shooting a disbelieving look towards the old woman's direction, Mikan began walking to the gang; all the while alternately mouthing _'What the hell?'_ and _'Is this edible?'._ They all snickered at her in response.

"Mimi, that is what you call _'Veggies'._" Tsubasa remarked as if he was talking to a five-year old kid. Mikan in turn, had a sudden urge to do a facepalm.

"Really?" Mikan began incredulously. "I don't need to be a vegetarian to know that this green, gooey stuff is most certainly **NOT** _'Veggies'._" Mikan used air quotes to emphasize her point. The others laughed except for Misaki who seemed to be dazedly looking at something behind Mikan.

"I don't know if you're a heartthrob magnet or not... but Natsume Hyuuga's looking at you." Mikan didn't say anything in reply as she glanced at the Crew's table. Truth to be told; Asshole was really looking at her.

When their eyes met, Natsume winked slyly before beckoning Mikan to sit with him. All the members were present except for Luna Koizumi.

_'Thank god!'_

Mikan grabbed her untouched tray before proceeding to the Crew's table.

"Hey! Why the long faces?" As Mikan sat down on the vacant chair, she noticed how the group were frozen on their chairs. She could almost hear the crickets chirping from where she was sitting.

'_Are they high or something?'_

"It's boring in here, Polka. We need a clown. Entertain us." It didn't escape the others' notice the strange endearment Natsume used for the young brunette.

"Oh, well. I can't help you with that. I have an extreme Coulrophobia... You know, like clowns?"

"No, no, no... I saw you watching _Bozo the Clown Shows_ on your phone the other day." It was Hotaru who triumphantly retorted. She smiled after that; satisfied with her stalker tendencies.

"Uh-huh. What do I even say to that?" Mikan teasingly asked. Everyone laughed at that but Ruka. He appeared to be thinking of something so serious that it might as well be the solution for World Hunger.

"Polka?" Ruka hesitantly asked. He had found it suspicious that just a week ago, the two never even spare a glance at each other... and now they're acting all _lovey-dovey_?

"Underwear basis, Blondie." Mikan simply said as if she was expecting everyone to understand what she had meant. Everyone was silent after that; unable to decipher what Mikan had meant; except for Natsume who just smirked knowingly.

The silence was awkward but Nobara was not having any of it. She looked at Hotaru excitedly prompting the raven-haired girl to nod in reply. Taking that as a confirmation to whatever she was thinking, Nobara suddenly leaned forward and smiled.

"Uhm... My parents have a new beach resort in Nagoya and I'm allowed to bring four people with me at its opening ceremony this coming semestral break; roughly 3 months from now. Aside from these three," Nobara gestured at the others animatedly before continuing. "I don't have any other close friends... and just because Koizumi sits here, it doesn't mean that I consider her as one. _So~o,_ what do you think? Are you game?" Tick tock. Nobara noticed that Mikan seemed to be taking too long to answer.

"Please? It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, sure!" Mikan grinned hesitantly. With that, Mikan tuned out the rest of the conversation when Nobara moved on to talk about what she'll wear and how she needed to shop ASAP. Mikan never really understood why most women loved to shop... but who was she to blame them?

_'I mean, I used to pick up paperclips, screws, corks and other stuff like that from the ground when I was still in third grade.'_

**_~o0O0o~_**

For the first time today, the Crew seemed to be livelier than usual... until Mikan heard a shrill, nasal voice crooned behind her.

"What are you doing on my table? Get up!"

Before Mikan turned around, she noticed that Natsume and Nobara looked ready to kill while Ruka looked very apprehensive. Hotaru looked like she'd won the lottery, sitting back, anticipating for a show. She readied her camera, just in case.

Mikan bit her lip and looked down, trying to do her best impression of a meek mouse. "I-I'm sorry. I w-will leave now if you want." Her voice was small and shaking. Luna smirked as if she'd been expecting as much.

"You better, Newbie." Luna sneered nasally. "This is like my table. And no one is like allowed to sit here. You should know that by now. I mean, like I don't let anyone looking so hideous sit here—" Mikan held out a hand to stop both Hotaru and Nobara from bitching her out. By now, the cafeteria had fallen silent.

_'Allow me.'_

"That is an impressive_ 'like' _vocabulary you got there," Mikan began in her real voice; assured and calm, "I was kidding. If I'm so hideous, what do you even call yourself? You're just an ugly bitch who has a terrible nose job. And I wouldn't want to associate with the likes of you." Mikan popped the flimsy plastic cover of the green stuff's container before jolting it upwards. It flew, seemingly in slow motion, and splattered everywhere: in her hair, on her face, and on the front of her pink sweater.

Luna stood very still, her mouth open as the gooey green dressing dripped down her face and sweater.

Narrowing her eyes and emitting an angry shriek, Luna stomped away to the bathroom, leaving flecks of salad dressing in her wake on the floor. The entire cafeteria broke out in laughter, especially Hotaru.

"Mikan, you're better than reality TV!" Hotaru wiped a tear from her eye. Mikan jokingly curtsied in response.

"I aim to please."

**_~o0O0o~_**

It was dusk when Mikan arrived at her cabin. As Mikan entered her room, she noticed how the new moon elegantly revealed itself against her window. Mikan gazed at it for a moment; awed by its beauty. The moment was short-lived, however, when Mikan suddenly felt her heart beating frantically against her chest. She remembered what her grandmother used to say when she was still alive.

_'It is, however, an ill omen to see the new moon for the first time through a window, my dear.'_

Mikan doesn't usually believe in superstitions but this was one of those rare times when she was actually considering them to be real.

_'Dang it, granny.'_

For the next hour, Mikan tried distracting herself from her overpowering nerves. She did all of her homework and essays available to the extent that she doesn't have anything to do 'till the next week.

Mikan was reluctant to sleep but it was already nearing midnight. She then decided to just suck it up and lie down under the covers. She snapped her eyes shut as the darkness slowly overtook her...

**_~o0O0o~_**

The red-haired teen sways and falls to his knees at her feet.

For the first time since they are together, she pities him.

His left arm hangs uselessly at his side, and if she looks closely enough she can see the footprint of her shoe on his shoulder where it breaks. His right arm is the only thing that steadies him on the wet pavement.

"Please," he whispers, lifting his face to look her in the eye. His eyes are dry, but every cell in his body trembles. "I know you've got every right to do this, I know, but please. I am begging you, literally on my knees begging you… just give me a second chance."

She draws the gun from its holster and cocks it. The noise it creates sounds like freedom.

When she presses the barrel against his forehead, it squeezes a sob out of him. She shakes her head and speaks with no sign of the tremor that he used to inflict in her voice. "I gave you way too many second chances."

**_~o0O0o~_**

Mikan woke up with the blankets tangled around her ankles and a loud pounding in her head. Even though it was pitch black outside and she didn't know how long she had been asleep, she did not need to check the time on her phone. It was _2:37 AM_. It was always _2:37 AM._

Her heart was beating frantically against her chest as she blindly reached for her phone on the nightstand. She hurriedly went through contacts and called the only person who could help her.

_"Mikan? Mikan! What's happening? Are you okay?"_

"Dad... It's starting... I—" Mikan wasn't able to finish her sentence when she dropped her phone on the ground; her trembling hands covering her face. Strangled sobs overcame her body as her mind was filled with only one thing...

_"I killed him."_

**_~o0O0o~_**

**A/N:** Whoa. Don't hate on me now for leaving it just hanging there. So who do you think the redhead is?

_Clue:_ His name is in a cookie brand that has a _'Twist, Lick, Dunk' _game on the App Store. lol

To those who'll get the answer right will receive a teaser in return so... _REVIEW_ and think like Detective Conan!

**Cheers and Good Luck,**

**Major Sugar Assassin**


	10. Oreo and M&M

**A/N: **_Omedetou_ to all those who got the answer right! I'm kinda surprised that _A LOT_ of you know who the cookie guy is! On the side note, _Romeo and Cinderella_ finally reached _250 reviews_! Thank you so much for taking your precious time in reviewing! Please do continue. lol

**X. Oreo and M&M**

_Bang._

That was the sound that kept on ringing like a broken record in Mikan's ears. She sat on one corner and tried to cover her ears in an attempt to stop the sound. This was the heartbreaking scene that welcomed Yuka, Youichi and Narumi when they burst through her cabin door.

_"I killed him..."_ Mikan repeatedly muttered to herself. Her eyes glazed over as if she hadn't heard them coming. She just sat there unmoving; unaware of her surroundings as the ghosts of her past clouded her senses.

"Sweet Jesus. Mikan, snap out of it!" Yuka tried to shake Mikan's shoulders but the teen was unresponsive. Youichi looked on worriedly; he didn't know what to do. It was his first time seeing his sissy weak and helpless, instead of the sarcastic bitch he grew accustomed to.

Seeing that Mikan was still not responding, Narumi took over. He seemed to know what he was doing when he gently pushed Yuka away and kneeled down at Mikan's level.

"My bag! Hand me my bag!" Narumi demanded. He hurriedly opened it and reached for a small bottle of blue pills. He popped one in Mikan's mouth but the teen couldn't seem to swallow it as she started to choke on her own saliva. Youichi sprinted towards the kitchen to fetch a glass of water before giving it to Narumi; who feverishly let Mikan drank from it.

As the medicine took effect, Mikan's heartbeat began to speed up and her breathing became erratic. It was only until when she heard Yuka's soothing words was she was able to completely succumbed into a dreamless slumber.

Narumi then gently lay Mikan down to her bed before going out of the cabin to make some important calls.

"Aunt? Is she gonna be okay?" Youichi quietly asked. He understood Mikan, in a way. He had once gone through a phase in his life when he thought that there was no way around his addiction to fire—believing that he will spend the rest of his life fearing that one day, he would wake up just to find everything around him burning.

"I'm sure she would be, Youichi. She better be."

**_~o0O0o~_**

_Th-thud. Th-thud. Th-thud._

Mikan could hear the sound of her heart loudly pounding against her chest. There were murmurs and whispers around her but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Mikan..."

_'Mikan? Why are they talking about me?'_

She tried moving her limbs but to no avail. For some strange reason, she couldn't feel a thing. She was numb.

"Mikan?"

She could hear voices getting louder and clearer; pulling her back from the clouded pit of her subconsciousness.

She abruptly opened her eyes but her vision was too blurry to let alone see anything. She then squeezed her hazel eyes shut when she felt a searing headache coming on. She moaned audibly and began to massage her temple in trying to ease the pain.

She blinked for a few times as the fog on her vision slowly eased up... then she saw white.

_'White? Why the hell is it all white?'_

"We're at the hospital, Mikan." Yuka answered her unspoken question.

"Hospital?" Mikan's voice was hoarse as if she had been screaming for hours. She felt like she was experiencing one hell of a hangover.

"What the hell happened?" Mikan groaned as she strained herself in trying to remember what had occurred that led her up being confined in a hospital. A Hospital. She then saw white wires connected to her body and that beeping monitor that everyone sees in movies all the time.

_'Oh god... What did I do to myself?'_

"You don't remember?"

"I..." Mikan trailed off, her palms curled into tiny fists. Why can't she remember? Her hold was too tight to the point that she was painfully digging her palms with her nails.

'_C'mon brain! Give me something.'_

Blots of red clouded Mikan's vision as she regained dark, blurry flashes of what happened the night before. However, it was too blurry for Mikan to get something from it.

Sensing Mikan's dilemma, Yuka held her hand and softly whispered as if she was afraid to see what Mikan's reaction would be.

"You said: _'I killed him.'_"

Mikan didn't need to remember what had happened back at her cabin when she heard that single phrase. She knew that she just had an episode about the bastard who ruined her life.

"What did I do? A-and how long was I out?"

"You were just sitting at the corner of your room when we got there. You didn't even hear us coming. Your father booked a flight as soon as you ended the call. He'll be here late noon." Yuka then squeezed Mikan's hand before continuing. "You were unconscious for 9 hours."

"9 hours?! What about school?"

"I rang the school up. You're calling in sick for the next three days. Tsubasa volunteered to bring all your school work at the cabin." Yuka simply said. Silence blanketed the room—when suddenly, Yuka appeared to have remembered something rather amusing that made her snort.

"Oh! There's also this group of scary, rowdy kids with him demanding where were you! I swear, that kid is hanging out with the wrong crowd... Which reminds me; I'm going to tell that to his father later." Mikan instantly knew that it was the gang. She smiled fondly before closing her eyes and leaning against the headboard. She would have laughed at another time, but not now; when her mind was in someplace darker.

"I thought I was happy. I had a perfect boyfriend, lots of cool friends... What could I ever ask for?" Mikan lazily drawled out. It was an innocent question but Yuka knew better.

"You don't need to tell me anything, I understand." Mikan just shook her head. She needed to let it all out to lessen the guilt and pain that she was feeling in her chest.

"Problem is, I didn't realize I was viewing life through a blindfold until it was roughly ripped off. That was what happened three years ago... when I was still with Reo Mouri; my first love." Yuka's eyes widened in apprehension. She had hired people to find where Mikan was when her father died four years ago. And this happened just a year after that? Maybe if she hadn't stopped watching over Mikan, there might have been a huge chance of preventing what had occurred.

"Reo was loving, considerate, caring, funny... You know; just like who those silly little girls describe as the perfect man."

"It started with light shoves and dirty looks. He controlled my every move; even the fucking food I eat. He molded me into a person I barely knew. It came to a point that he would lock me in his house's basement, in that shitty hellhole. Dad was my last resort... but he, too was blinded by Reo's flawless public façade. Only I knew that Mr. Perfect wasn't so perfect after all." Mikan briefly looked at the ceiling as if contemplating something.

"That night, everything had the quality of a dream. And I was thinking, this wasn't where I wanted to be. I wanted to be in my bed. I wanted to be asleep, alive... just anything but there. I remembered thinking_ 'Please, let this be a dream. Or even a nightmare, I don't care!'_" Mikan let out a laugh but it was anything but happy. Her eyes held such sorrow that rendered Yuka speechless.

"Reo was pointing a cold, deadly metal at me. He battered me with bruises and deep, deep cuts. I could feel my strength leaving me at every tick of the clock. _'I warned you too many times, but you didn't listen.'_ He said. '_You brought this upon yourself.'_ We fought, fought to free ourselves from this madness that was burning us alive.

"But the flashes of movements stopped when we both realized that I ended up gripping the deadly metal in my fist. How can this gun kill a man? He breathed loudly in the dark, the sort of breath that was raspy and barely covering fear. _'Please, Mikan!'_ he said. _'We could work this out.' _But I didn't answer. Work what out? There's no '_this_' to begin with.

"I unlocked the gun, and then cocked it. I raised the weapon before he knew what was happening. The shot rang out before I could ponder on it further—a bang breaking the unnatural silence of the house. I closed my eyes and breathed. His body hit the ground, a heavy noise, a heavy weight of an overwhelming sadness I couldn't understand. Or maybe I could. Maybe I understood too well.

"That wasn't enough. That was never enough. Enough, enough, enough. What was enough? Nothing, ever. No. I felt the tears down my face, wet, hot. My hands trembled. I couldn't linger—not even with this intimate moment; this thing that was staring at me. And what was staring at me? _Death_. And a choice. And a decision I had already made but I wanted to take it back.

"_2:37 AM_. I thought it was ironic... I thought it was just a cruel joke. I closed my eyes again, as I stood, as I felt my panic fade, as I felt my sadness fade. It was replaced with focus. I had to remember what I was doing." Jaded hazel eyes of someone who have already seen too much pierced through Yuka. She then concluded her speech with a grave tone.

"I had to remember who I was, even as it slipped away."

Yuka didn't say anything after that. She couldn't. She didn't know what to say that would lessen the pain that Mikan was feeling. Mikan was still a 15-year-old kid at that time; barely a teen. And what was Yuka doing back then? Wallowing in self-pity when in fact, her daughter needed someone who would assure her that everything would be alright.

"I'm sorry." It was just two words but Mikan knew that Yuka was apologizing for so much more.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Mikan smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She then look out the window and heaved out a sigh. Her eyes adapted a faraway look as she tried to recall what had happened after that.

"Even if Reo's family kept on telling me that it wasn't my fault and that I was just trying to defend myself, I know that deep down, they were all blaming me for their son's loss."

Yuka was too shocked to utter a single word. All the while she thought that what she was experiencing was difficult when in fact, it wasn't even an inkling of what her daughter had been through in just a short span of time. No one spoke after that until they heard a faint knock on the door.

Whoever it was didn't wait for either of them to reply when he abruptly burst through the door.

"Mimi! What the hell..." The person trailed off when he caught sight of Yuka sitting beside the girl. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Uhh... Am I interrupting?"

"She's all yours, Tsubasa." Yuka winked before grabbing her bag and started towards the door. With a parting glance at Mikan, she bolted out of the room.

As soon as Tsubasa heard the door closed, he instantly sat where Yuka was sitting a moment ago. He then grabbed a thick brown folder from his backpack and handed it to Mikan.

"That's all the school work you'll miss for the next three days. I had fought with every department just to get those. If you have any questions though, I'll let Yuu or Imai know."

"Thanks, _Baldy_! Really appreciate it. But why Hotaru or Yuu?"

"_Seriously_? _Baldy_? What the fug? That's so not cool, girly." Tsubasa arched a delicate eyebrow in disbelief. He unconsciously ran his hand through his messy locks; making sure that he wasn't anywhere near _bald_. Mikan annoyingly rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me for coming up with that just a second ago. It's just that you wear hats all the time! I mean, you've got to be hiding something under those hideous _tam o'shanters_ or whatever you call those. _Well_?"

"Imai's like in the top 2 of the Academy's finest nerds. And Yuu's third despite the fact that he likes unicorns and... Little ponies." Tsubasa lightly sniggered at that part. Mikan nodded her head thoughtfully.

"If Hotaru's second, then who's the first?"

"I'm sure you've heard about him... It's Hyuuga. Natsume Hyuuga." Mikan heard subtle annoyance in Tsubasa's voice when he said Natsume's name. She must have a confused look on her face which prompted Tsubasa to continue.

"He is a playboy, Mimi."

"What about it? He seems like a good guy, Bas. Maybe you're relying in gossips a bit too much?" Tsubasa snorted upon hearing Mikan's reply.

"You don't know him as long as I have. Hyuuga's dedicated in chasing pieces of ass around. He professes his love to all but commits to no one. Every week, he has a new chick in his arm. But since school started, he just... stopped. I suggest you stay away from him. He likes hot pursuits, and you might just be his next target." Tsubasa's tone was serious; a stark contrast from his usual happy-go-lucky personality. Mikan stared at him as she lounged back against the headboard.

"How could you be sure, Tsubasa?"

"I know him, Mikan. I know him." Tsubasa replied with an underlying annoyance in his tone. It seemed that at that moment, he was reliving whatever it was that happened between him and Natsume that made him dislike him. Mikan just suspiciously glanced at the lad. She suspected that there was something more going on. The hatred she saw swimming in Tsubasa's azure orbs was something else.

"For some reason, I don't believe you."

**_~o0O0o~_**

**A/N: HEYA. **I don't what exactly did I eat that caused me to write something as far-etched as this chapter's murder scene. But I ain't complainin'!

And just to make ya'll more excited, the next chapter's title is **"Babysitting War: Tits McGee Style"**! You're probably really curious with what's it about now, aren't you? So if you wanna know more about it, _REVIEW_.

What do you think, ya'll? Type in a review below and receive a teaser in return!

**With Love,  
Major Sugar Assassin**


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